Of Souls and Stars
by apriiil
Summary: A collection of unrelated one-shots about Bickslow and Lucy and their never mundane lives, in as many difference universes possible. Mostly romance/friendship/humour/angst. See first chapter for contents page. Full story summaries inside. {Chapter 13 - Clumsy - Orchestra AU.}
1. Contents Page

_So. Because I write way too many BixLu one-shots for my own good, I thought it would be a somewhat good idea to start putting some of them in a collection to keep things a little organised. This won't apply to my already published ones on here, but for most of my upcoming ones, they'll be getting added to this._

 _For the most part, these will be **rated T**. For now, it will remain as T, but eventually, the M rating will be put in place for a very good reason. I'll put warnings and ratings in each particular chapter as well, so please make sure to read them before the actual chapter. So basically, if a story is rated M and contains actual smut/lemon (or anything else even), I will mention that it does at the beginning, and if you don't like reading that, you will know what the story has in it so you can not read it! _

_Anyway. To make things even easier, I'm going to have this first chapter set up as contents page, just so you don't have to keep clicking through all the chapters to find something you want to read. Summaries will be added here as well as in the actual story, just for those who feel like binge reading or something._

 _As usual, if you have any suggestions (for anything, really), feel free to share them. Whether it's just about what gets posted in this collection, or maybe even a story. I don't mind either. And with that being said, I hope you enjoy whatever you find in here!_

 _ **Quick edit: Big thank you to Yorusorra for the new title!** _

* * *

**-Of Souls and Stars-**

* * *

 **CONTENTS**

 ****** Note: Characters will only be included/listed if they are of actual importance to the plot or appear for more than just a few lines of dialogue. I'd be listing half the characters in Fairy Tail otherwise. ******

 **Chapter 2** **: Sunshine**  
 _Bickslow finds himself having to face the truth when he comes to be stuck between two women. One of them is the one he thought he loved, but the other, Bickslow is slowly coming to realise is the one he's loved all along._

 **Characters:** Bickslow, Lucy, Flare

 **Rating:** T

* * *

 **Chapter 3** **: Wedding Date**  
 _Bickslow really needs a wedding date. The only problem is that he has no idea who to ask, and he's running out of time to find someone to take. Desperate to not go stag (and face the wrath of one of the brides), he asks Lucy: the girl who always orders coffee from him at two in the morning._

 **Rating:** T (It probably should be M for some adult references but... This is pretty tame.)

* * *

 **Chapter 4** **: Blue Club** _ **  
**The story of the First Club War, and all of its casualties. Pettiness ensues._

 **Rating** _ **:** _ T

* * *

 **Chapter 5** **: The Sexy Teddy** (Drabble)  
 _Tumblr request: "Why is the Teddy Bear wearing your sexy underwear in the bathtub?"_

 **Rating:** T

* * *

 **Chapter 6** **: Small Fish** (Drabble)  
 _Tumblr request: "Damn auto-correct."_

 **Rating:** T

* * *

 **Chapter 7** **: Asked and Answered** **  
** _Bickslow needs to work on his word choice when he's asking Lucy to get him something to eat, especially if he wants to avoid her thinking he's actually proposing._

 **Rating** : K+

* * *

 **Chapter 8: Love Thy Family  
** _Even after a decade of marriage, Bickslow's parents-in-law are still trying to set Lucy up with someone else._

 **Rating:** T

* * *

 **Chapter 9: Strangers  
** _With the kids gone for the night, Lucy makes the most of the opportunity and plans a romantic evening with someone she hasn't seen in far too long._

 **Rating:** M

* * *

 **Chapter 10: Baby Fever**  
 _Practically everyone is getting knocked up and getting started on building their families. Everyone except Lucy, that is. And Bickslow can't help but worry that they'll be next - and that, he is definitely not ready for._

 **Rating:** T

* * *

 **Chapter 11: To Build a Bridge**  
 _A child is not something you keep from someone you love, and Bickslow learns that the hard way. And when Lucy finds out the wrong way and jumps to the wrong conclusion, everything comes crashing down. And Bickslow is left trying to mend what's left before it's completely over._

 **Rating:** T

* * *

 **Chapter 12:** **Moonlight (Sequel to Sunshine)**  
 _The beginning was easy. It was just everything else that was hard. Between Flare coming back into his life (and not in the way he expected), moving across the country and figuring out long-distance relationships, and then just figuring out just where it was they were going with each other, Bickslow and Lucy find themselves struggling for a little while._

 **Rating:** T

* * *

 **Chapter 13:** **Clumsy**  
 _She's the pretty violinist, and he's the confident cellist. And the next time Lucy trips over his damn cello, she's probably going to actually break it. [Inspired by Mozart in the Jungle.]_

 **Rating:** T


	2. Sunshine (T)

_**Summary:** Bickslow finds himself having to face the truth when he comes to be stuck between two women. One of them is the one he thought he loved, but the other, Bickslow is slowly coming to realise is the one he's loved all along._

 _ **Characters:** Bickslow, Lucy, Flare_

 _ **Rating:** T_

* * *

 **Sunshine**

* * *

Lucy slumped down in her chair as soon as she reached her desk that morning. It was only 9:30 a.m. and her work day had really just begun, but it was already off to a horrible start. The only thing that was working in her favour right then was that the guy who sat in the cubicle right next to hers, Bickslow, wasn't there yet. He hadn't been in since the beginning of the week, and as much as she cared about him, she had really loved him not being there, even if she had in fact been worried about his absences.

She only sighed quietly to herself as she waited for her computer to finish booting up, and took a sip of her coffee before looking around the office. Everyone was already busy getting on with what they were paid to do. Phones were ringing, keyboards were clicking, people were chatting – Erza was once again kicking the photocopier by the break room...

It was just a normal morning in the office.

But…

Lucy had just hoped it would be one of the last times she had to see Erza attacking the photocopy machine or listen to her co-workers gossip with each other between doing their work. But alas, she was stuck on the fourth floor office of the company she worked for, because the transfer to the Crocus office she'd applied for had been spectacularly denied, and her boss had told her the news just that very morning.

She just couldn't wait for five o'clock to hit so she could go home and order pizza, curl up with Natsu and the ridiculously fluffy feline he owned, and cry about her non-existent and strangely problematic love life. That was all she wanted to do, because that was the only thing that would be able to turn her day around.

"Mornin', Sunshine."

She almost spilled the still steaming coffee all over her blouse at the unusually hoarse voice, and her cheeks quickly became uncomfortably warm at the all too familiar – though still strangely hoarse – chuckle that followed.

"B-Bickslow!" she squeaked, hands flying over papers quickly when she set her mug back down on her desk to try and tidy up her workspace. "You, uh… You're here! And… late." Which was odd, really, because they were supposed to start at nine on the dot and Bickslow was pretty much always there before she was in the mornings (well, excluding when he wasn't there at all). He was never late.

The blue-haired man shrugged as he ran a hand through his hair and sat down at his own desk. "Yeah, well." He paused to cough into his hand. "I had an appointment this morning and the doc was running late."

Lucy frowned at him as he got his own desk organised and computer turned on. She'd truly been glad that Bickslow hadn't been there before just because it had been one less thing to worry about. But now that he was there, she was as glad as she always was to see him. And also as she always did, she hated how she felt – how _he_ made her feel. Because she shouldn't be extraordinarily happy to see her co-worker, nor should she be in love with them.

But alas, she was.

And she couldn't help that she was concerned and worried about the guy she was in love with, especially if he was sick. All she wanted to do was wrap him up in a blanket and give him lots of soup! But of course, she couldn't do that, because she wasn't his girlfriend. She was just his friend. He already had a girlfriend.

"Are you sure you should even be here?" she asked. "You really don't seem well. Is that why you were out all week?"

"Ah, I'm fine. Don't worry about me." Bickslow coughed again before continuing, "And yeah, that's why I didn't come in. I was too busy sleeping or watching Desperate Housewives in bed."

"Desperate Housewives? Really?"

"Oh yes. It's quite binge-worthy, you know."

Lucy rolled her eyes. "I'm sure it is. You were drinking plenty of water though too, right?"

"Yes, yes, I was," he sighed. Though really, he did like how much Lucy cared. It was nice to have someone care about him and whether or not he was well. If only his girlfriend actually cared about him like Lucy did (though he really did know his girlfriend cared. She just wasn't very good at showing it most of the time). But every time he thought about how he was sure Lucy would be ten times the girlfriend Flare was, he only mentally hit his head against the nearest wall. Because he was most definitely not supposed to be almost wishing that his girlfriend was someone else. Especially when he was really quite in love with said girlfriend. "Not that my girlfriend thought it was important or anything," he added almost bitterly with another sigh. "She cared more about our cancelled plans than anything and's been ignoring me all week."

Lucy hadn't met Bickslow's girlfriend personally, but she knew they'd been together for a while and that Bickslow was, of course, very much in love with her. "I'm sure she did, Bix," Lucy whispered. "And she's probably just been keeping her distance so she doesn't get sick. You don't want her to get sick, do you?"

"I guess not…"

"But I still think you shouldn't have come in today," she added, taking another sip of her coffee in the mug that Bickslow had gotten her for her birthday two years earlier. "You need to be resting."

Bickslow rolled his eyes. "I've had enough rest, Luce. Besides…" He rolled his chair towards Lucy's desk and leant with his elbow on the edge, clearly invading his co-worker's personal space without a single care as usual. "A little birdy told me you put in for a transfer."

"…Oh, um…"

"You didn't expect to be able to leave without telling me, right?"

Lucy shrugged. She might've told him she was transferring when she came in to pack up her desk, but not before then. It wasn't like she could've told him she was thinking of applying for a transfer, let alone having actually applied for one, because he would've asked why. And strangely, telling the guy that she wanted to move to the other side of the country _because_ of him didn't seem like a good idea. "Maybe…" she mumbled. "But it got denied anyway, so I guess you're stuck with me…"

"Thank fucking god for that."

She looked to the man leaning on the corner of her desk with wide eyes. "You're… happy about that?" The few people she'd told at the office about her applying for the transfer had all been supportive of her decision to do so and already told her they'd miss seeing her around. But Bickslow… Bickslow was really the opposite, and she didn't quite understand it. She'd expected Bickslow of all people to support her with it – despite it having been denied anyway – just because they'd been working together for a long time at that point and they'd become really great friends over the years.

"'Course I am. Why would I want you to leave?" he asked.

"…I don't know…"

The last thing Bickslow wanted was Lucy to leave. Sure, he'd have been happy for her if she was transferring, but he'd have missed her a hell of a lot, too – so much so that he might've even considered applying for a transfer himself. He just couldn't imagine working with anyone other than the smiling girl, fresh out of college, who'd walked in four years earlier and sat down at the empty desk right beside his. Lucy made his boring office job just a little more exciting.

"Why would _you_ even want to leave?" he asked next. "I thought you loved it here."

"I do, I really do… I just…" Lucy shrugged. "I just thought a fresh start would be nice. Just leave everything behind and… And be happy again," she answered quietly. It wasn't even that far from the truth either, because all she'd wanted was to be able to walk into work every morning and not see the guy she was horribly and painfully in love with, or have to go home and wallow every week because he'd never love her back. She didn't want to pretend that everything was fine anymore, either. That's all.

And what she'd told Bickslow, that was enough. That was all he could ever know, too.

"You're not happy?"

"No, no, I am!" she quickly assured him before giving a small sigh. She really wasn't sure how she could explain it without telling him properly. "I just… I'm sure I could be happier, you know?"

"Oh. I see…" For a minute there Bickslow had been really worried about Lucy. But now, he was only a _little_ worried. He hadn't wanted to find out he'd missed something that was obviously there. He spent enough time staring at her so he liked to think he was good at reading her. "But, for what it's worth, I'm really glad you're staying. I'm not at all sorry your application got denied, and I'd probably hug you right now if I wasn't all germy and sick."

Lucy looked away when she felt her cheeks and tips of her ears getting warm again. She'd risk getting sick any day of the week to get a hug from him, but… It wasn't at all appropriate. _Especially_ not at work. "How about you just stay over there and keep your germs to yourself," she laughed quietly as she slid her chair to her far corner of her desk.

"Will do," Bickslow chuckled. Several minutes passed where they both silently got on with their work at their desks before he decided to say anything else. And it was with a sigh that he got Lucy's attention, though he kept his eyes on his screen as he said, "I still don't really understand why you'd want to leave anyway. I mean, I'm _here_. There's no me anywhere else."

 _That's the point._ "I guess you're right…"

* * *

Lucy only watched Bickslow curiously as she made her way to her desk that morning. He was giving her that stupid grin he saved for when he had something extraordinarily exciting to tell her – the stupid grin she happened to love a whole lot more than she should.

It had been a few months since her transfer had been denied at that point, and after she'd gone home to cry with Natsu about how much it sucked that she was stuck in Magnolia and Bickslow was happy about it, she'd decided to try really ridiculously hard to stop loving him… yet again. Except that time, the last few months hadn't been going so horribly. She'd even managed to go on a couple of dates with guys she thankfully would never have to see again, but a couple of dates was most definitely progress. Especially considering the fact she didn't go on a single date for over a year before then, that was how in love with Bickslow she'd been.

Still, she was beginning to think that maybe, she was finally starting to fall out of love with him.

Which was why she could deal with the man's ridiculously stupid grin without getting all giggly and feeling like twirling her hair around her finger. Instead, she only rolled her eyes as she sat down at her forever cluttered desk and as Bickslow said his usual greeting to her.

"Mornin', Sunshine."

She couldn't really complain about it. He'd started calling her a cosplayer after the office had thrown a Halloween party one year, and it had taken her months just to get him to revert back to his long standing favourite for her. And really, Lucy had to admit to herself she liked it. Sunshine wasn't that bad.

"Good morning, Bickslow. What's got you in such a good mood today?" she asked. "I thought you hated Mondays."

"Oh, I do. I fucking loathe them," he admitted. "But… I, uh… I asked Flare to marry me, and she said yes."

Admittedly, Bickslow had been hesitant to tell Lucy just because they had a slightly complicated relationship – he'd known for a long time that Lucy liked him just a little more than a friend – but he'd just been too excited to keep his mouth shut.

Though as excited as he was about his news, he couldn't help but watch Lucy with bated breath in the seconds that followed his announcement. The last thing he wanted to do was upset her, because he was sure if Lucy was telling him she was getting married, he would be just a little sad.

"You… You proposed to your girlfriend?" she whispered.

"Yup." Though he didn't see the importance in telling people that he'd actually proposed two weeks earlier and it had just taken Flare that long to give him an answer.

"Bickslow's, that's…" _Horrible? Earth-shattering?_ "That's wonderful!"

His lips quirked as he spun in his chair to face her again. "You uh, you think so?" He got the feeling that _wonderful_ wasn't the first word Lucy wanted to use to describe his engagement, but… She still seemed genuine. And genuine was good. Because Lucy was one of his closest friends and he cared about her a great deal – far more than he should, he knew. But that was fine.

"Of course I think so!" _Sort of._ She couldn't help but roll her chair forward so she could wrap her arms around the man. "You're getting married! I'm so happy for you, Bickslow."

"Thanks, Lucy. I'm happy too."

Except where Bickslow meant he was happy, because he really did love his girlfriend and the thought of being able to settle down with her did appeal to him, Lucy was _not_ happy. How could she be? He was getting married. Nothing about that situation made her want to smile or jump for joy because the guy she was seemingly incapable of getting over was getting married to someone else.

All those months where she'd thought she'd been finally getting over him… Lucy knew they meant nothing anymore. Even if she had miraculously been getting over him before that moment, she was back to square one now. And that hurt a whole lot more than it had before, because now she knew she had absolutely no chance of ever being with him. She'd known she'd had no chances before, but now he was engaged. He'd made his choice and his choice would just never be her.

Lucy knew that all too well.

And it hurt.

And she had to try and stop herself from letting the tears in her eyes show when she sat back and gave him the brightest smile she could muster. The last thing she needed was Bickslow worrying about just why she wasn't as happy as she should be.

So clearing her throat when she realised she wasn't going to be able to do any work until she'd composed her, she excused herself under the pretence of going downstairs to grab some coffee from the café next door. But really, she was only going down to the office's receptionist on the ground floor, Cana, just so she could cry and complain about the news that would be spread around the office in no time. Cana was one of the only people she'd trusted with her feelings.

And if anything, Lucy knew Cana would be expecting her that day, because Cana knew everything that went on in that office, so she'd no doubt know that Bickslow was to be getting married.

* * *

In all the years Bickslow had known Lucy and worked with her, he had learned that the woman was rarely late to anything, just like he was. She was either awkwardly early or right on time. So when it came to his engagement party and almost everyone they'd invited had come and Lucy still remained absent an hour into the night, he couldn't help but worry.

It had been snowing all week so his first thought was that she'd been in an accident and that was why she was late. That thought had only made him panic a little and he'd been about to call their local hospital, but then Flare had only told him to not worry so much and that his co-worker was probably fine and he'd just reluctantly agreed and gone back to socialising.

His second thought, though, was that Lucy just wasn't going to come at all, so his idea of socialising and enjoying his party hadn't exactly gone to plan, because he'd been too busy getting lost in his own head and wondering just why Lucy had decided not to come.

If anything, Lucy had been one of the only people he'd cared about inviting. It was mostly Flare's friends and family that had been invited, and most of them Bickslow didn't even know – he'd only even met her parents two times in the three years they'd been together. Bickslow had only invited a handful of people, and they were just his oldest friends from high school and later college, and a few people from work he got along with reasonably well. And of course, Lucy.

He really had thought she'd been happy for him, but Bickslow hadn't been able to help wonder if she'd just made it _seem_ that way to stop him from worrying. He didn't think that was beyond something Lucy would do, especially if him getting married was actually something she was having difficulty dealing with, and Bickslow suspected that that was why she'd not come to his engagement party.

He'd never found it important to tell his girlfriend – _fiancée_ – that he was well aware that one of his best friends had feelings for him, and he sure as hell hadn't ever _wanted_ to tell her, either. He'd known that would just end with them having an extremely awkward conversation. She'd ask why he never bothered doing anything about it, and he'd not be able to give her an answer – not one she wanted, anyway. Because when it came to Lucy liking him, Bickslow just didn't want to do anything about it. Letting Lucy down and hurting her just seemed like an impossible task to him, and if anything, he didn't think it was necessary to tell her what she already knew.

If it was the other way around, Bickslow knew he wouldn't want the person he liked _remind_ him that things could never be. Just knowing it was hard enough, he figured. Being reminded of it was unnecessary.

So he hadn't told Flare.

Still, Bickslow had just thought it would be nice if Lucy had come to his engagement party, because she was one of his best friends and he wanted to be able to celebrate his happiness with her. But if it was too hard for her to do that… Well, he couldn't even blame her for not showing up. If not coming was what made her happy that night, then that was what made him happy too.

Of course, when he heard the doorbell and kissed his fiancée's cheek to excuse himself from the party and go see who was at the door, Bickslow's mood was skyrocketing when he found out just who was waiting on his doorstep.

"Lucy!"

She only gave him an apologetic smile as he let her in. "I'm so sorry I'm late. Gosh, I shouldn't—" She didn't get a chance to finish before the tall man was pulling her into the tightest and close to most inappropriate hug she'd ever received from him. Her feet even left the ground for a few seconds.

"Don't worry about it!" Bickslow quickly said as he gave her another squeeze. "I didn't even think you'd come at all. God, I'm so glad you could make it!"

There was a clearing of a throat from behind them in the hall, and Lucy was sure her face was as red as the woman's hair who was standing there was. _That must be his fiancée._ She'd never met Flare before, but she'd seen pictures of her once or twice when Bickslow had shown them to her on his phone, usually after a trip. Aside from seeing the odd picture of her and knowing that the photos didn't do the colour or the length of her hair justice – because _god_ , was it long – Lucy didn't actually know anything about her. Bickslow had never really spoken about her that much in all the years they'd been together. And although Lucy hadn't ever thought that odd since the workplace wasn't really a place for talking about personal relationships and her own relationship with the man was almost entirely professional, it had made buying a gift for them just a little difficult.

The fact it had had to be done quickly, too, didn't help in the slightest, because she really hadn't wanted to be there at all. It had only been a month since Bickslow had gotten engaged, but it was still a month where Lucy had been just as miserably in love with him as ever. And as much as she loved him and cared about him, the idea of celebrating his engagement with him hadn't been one she'd liked all that much, because it hurt more than she wished it did. But still, Bickslow was her friend – one of her closest, despite everything – and she'd wanted to go and be his friend and be happy for him.

Or she'd at least wanted to try to, anyway.

Bickslow wasn't even close to being embarrassed as he quickly set Lucy back down to return to Flare's side. How uncomfortable she looked and how forced her polite smile seemed to be lost on him, though not on Lucy. "Flare, baby! This is Lucy."

She held her hand out to the blonde. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Lucy," Flare said softly. "Bickslow has told me so much about you."

"H-He has?" Lucy whispered.

Flare nodded. "He talks about you _all_ the time." Almost every time they spent time together Bickslow was mentioning Lucy at least once. At first she hadn't really cared all that much, but after a while it had become a little worrisome. And now that Flare had finally met the woman that her fiancé talked about almost non-stop and seen how ridiculously happy just her presence had made him that night, Flare was worrying a lot.

But she was just telling herself that there was nothing to worry about anyway.

"Not _all_ the time," Bickslow chuckled nervously. _Just a little. Maybe._

"Oh, well, I'm sure it's not _that_ much…" Lucy mumbled. Though she was extremely curious to know just what Flare knew about her. "He talks about _you_ at work a lot, though."

"I find that hard to believe," Flare scoffed.

Lucy just laughed nervously again after Bickslow offered to take her coat, leaving just her and Flare in the hall. After staring down to her toes for a few awkward seconds, she cleared her throat and put on another smile. "Well, it's so nice to finally meet you, too!" she said. "And congratulations. I'm happy for the both of you. Really."

"Thank you, Lucy. But if you'll excuse me, I have guests to entertain."

As soon as Flare had gone back into the living room where Lucy could see everyone else gathered and enjoying the engagement party already, Bickslow was returning from the other end of the hall.

"Oh! I almost forgot!"

Bickslow didn't get a chance to ask what Lucy had forgotten before she was turning around and running back outside, leaving the door wide open and letting the cold air in. He just had no choice but to follow her. "Wait, Lucy. Where are you—" Except that was when he got to see Lucy slip over on the icy grass of his front lawn and land flat on her butt, and Bickslow only burst out laughing in an instant.

"Ow… That hurt," Lucy whined. She couldn't tell what hurt more between her ass and her dignity right then, and Bickslow laughing at her really didn't help.

"Oh… Oh my god…" Bickslow was already too busy laughing that he'd forgotten about asking just why Lucy had wanted to come back outside after just getting there. "That was fucking hilarious," he managed to choke out eventually.

"It so wasn't funny," she muttered.

"Oh, it _so_ was."

She rolled her eyes before looking back over her shoulder. "It wasn't. But can you at least come help me up?" He was still laughing more than Lucy liked when he did come gently pull her to her feet, and as soon as she was standing, she couldn't help but reach down to massage one cheek. "Great," she muttered. "Now my butt is wet. And it hurts. And it's cold." That was what she got for not wearing pants and going for tights under her dress instead.

"What are you doing out here anyway?"

She pointed to her car parked on the opposite side of the street with a sigh. "I got you a present but I left it in my car."

"Aw, Sunshine. You didn't need to do that."

"I wanted to, though. But…" Lucy sighed again before continuing, "My keys are in my purse and I gave you my purse with my coat…"

"Ah. Want me to go get your purse for you?"

She shook her head. "Just… get the keys." There wasn't really anything in her purse she cared about Bickslow seeing. Not really, anyway. "They'll be in there somewhere. Or maybe in one of my jacket pockets."

Bickslow nodded and was careful as he made it back up to his front steps, not wanting to slip like Lucy had. The image was still fresh in his mind as he made it back inside though, and he couldn't help but chuckle as he traversed down the hall and to his bedroom where they'd been laying everyone's coats and bags down for the evening. Lucy's coat was easy to recognise from the fact that he knew it was her favourite so he didn't need to look through the pile for her belongings for very long. The keys were in her purse, like she'd said, and after admiring the little sun keyring she still had on it for a minute – a gift for her first birthday after she'd started working at the company, and he also happened to have the crescent moon keyring that had come with it on his own keys – he was dashing back down the hall to deliver them back to their owner outside.

She was still rubbing her ass with her hands though now standing by her car by the time he was crossing the road, and he couldn't help but chuckle again and ask with a smirk, "Need a hand there?"

Lucy was quick to decline the strange offer. "No, _thank you_." _Did he really just offer to massage my ass?_ _Maybe I should say yes to find out… Wait, no. Don't do that. He's getting married!_ "The, uh… It's on the passenger seat."

Completely ignoring the fact that he had indeed just offered warm up the blonde's ass (Flare wouldn't like it if he did that), Bickslow just walked around Lucy's car to unlock it and picked up the large gift bag from the floor.

He was too excited to see what it was that he didn't wait until he was inside and back with Flare. Instead, he only locked the car again and leant on the door next to Lucy and opened up the bag.

"I, uh… I didn't really know what to get you since I don't know what kind of things Flare likes," Lucy said. "But I just saw that and I… I thought _you'd_ like it. You can return it if you want."

Bickslow only shook his head. "Hell no." He hadn't gotten to seeing what was _inside_ the bag yet, but he was sure it was perfect. And he was right when he did finally pull out what had been inside the bag, and he was letting the gift bag fall to the ground and holding up the cushion in front of him with a wide grin. "Holy shit, this is fucking awesome." Of all the presents they'd received all night, the cushion he was holding with the cartoon cheese and macaroni with a heart between them was his absolute favourite. "Lucy, I love it!"

"It's lame, I know…"

"God, no. Okay, maybe just a little, but it's perfect, really." He was only setting the pillow on the roof of Lucy's car to wrap his arms around her in another hug while wondering if he was the cheese or the macaroni. "I love it. Thanks, Sunshine. And thank you for coming tonight. I mean it."

"It was my pleasure, Bix," she whispered. It was a good thing Natsu was already expecting her to come home and want to do nothing but cry on the lounge so he'd already gotten all of their favourite movie night foods ready, because Lucy was already beginning to regret her decision to go to the engagement party. She'd known it would be hard, but she hadn't expected it to be so difficult so quickly. But she couldn't leave just yet. She knew that. "Now, come on. I need to go inside before my butt actually freezes."

* * *

When Flare had called him as he'd been finishing work that day to say that she'd be over later to talk to him, he'd thought that she was finally ready to talk about moving in with him or getting another place together. In all the years they'd been the together, the most amount of time they'd spent together was during the two week-long vacations they'd taken. Other than that, it had been just one or two nights every week at either one of their places, because Flare had always said she just wasn't ready to move in together.

And that had been fine. Bickslow had dropped it for the most part, partly because he hadn't wanted to push his girlfriend into doing something she wasn't ready for because he knew she wasn't exactly the most stable at times, and partly because them not living together had been a good thing, in a way. They tended to have more disagreements and arguments when they spent too much time around together – that, or they sat in awkward silence.

And then, when she'd said yes to marrying him, Bickslow had just assumed that they'd move in together when they were actually married.

But, the moving in talk wasn't what Flare had meant for that night, as it had turned out. What Flare had wanted to do was give him back her engagement ring four months into their engagement in which they'd yet to even talk about a date for a wedding, and Bickslow could genuinely say that he hadn't seen it coming.

He hadn't exactly expected Flare to say that she'd slept with someone else three weeks earlier, too, but that had happened as well.

So Bickslow had only asked why. He'd needed to know why the woman he'd spent the last three and a half years with had decided to call it quits out of the blue. It wasn't even so much that she'd slept with someone else. If anything, that bothered him the least. It was just the reason she thought they should not get married all of a sudden that he cared about.

"Because you don't love me," came Flare's quiet answer from where sat on the middle of the sofa, hands twisting nervously on her lap.

"What? Of course I do!" He hadn't been expecting that, either. And when he reached out from where he sat next to her, his hand could only fall back to his lap when she turned away to avoid him. "Flare, come on. That's crazy."

She only shook her head. "It's not crazy. _I'm_ not crazy."

"I didn't say that, Flare."

"Well, still… It's the truth…" She'd realised it. Why couldn't Bickslow?

"No, it really isn't," he insisted. "Baby, come on. You know I love you."

Flare sighed with a small shrug. "Okay, maybe you really do love me…" she admitted. "But not as much as you do someone else." She wasn't an idiot. She knew what was in front of her. It had just taken her a long time to put the pieces together.

Bickslow just didn't get it, though. Not yet, anyway. "Flare, baby, I don't love anyone else. I love _you_."

"Bickslow, please don't make this any more difficult than it needs to be…"

"You're the one I asked to marry, remember?" he pointed out, just hoping that she'd see how crazy it all was. "You're the one I chose to spend my life with. Flare, please. Your crazy matches my crazy. You're the one that said that. We're good together."

"You know that's not true…"

"But it is true." Every couple fought.

Flare sighed again before twisting to finally face him. "Bickslow, I've seen the way you look at her," she said, just trying desperately to make Bickslow understand it all.

"Look at who?"

" _Lucy_."

"God, Flare, what are you talking about?"

"At the engagement party," she said. "I saw how you looked at her, and how you are when you're around her. You don't look at _me_ like that, Bix. You never have."

"That's ridiculous," Bickslow scoffed.

"You talk about her _constantly_ ," Flare pointed out.

He shifted uncomfortably. That one, he had, admittedly, come to realise was true. So he'd tried working on it. But it wasn't his fault there was always just something to talk about when it came to Lucy. Flare asked how his days at work were when they had dinner together, and most of the time, Lucy had done something he was proud of and he thought was worth sharing.

"You even blew off coming to dinner with my parents for her last month."

Bickslow rolled his eyes. "Flare, come on," he groaned. "You know your parents hate me. And it was her birthday. I wasn't going to miss that." Really, like he'd miss Lucy's birthday, especially when his other alternative had been Flare's ridiculously massive and frankly frightening fathers telling him that their daughter was their princess and that she deserved someone better. And he'd done the right thing anyway. He'd invited Flare to Lucy's birthday. Flare had just said no.

And already, Flare was beginning to grow frustrated. It was hard enough on her to be doing that right then as it was, but having to help Bickslow realise what she knew to be the truth was making it even harder. Yet Flare knew she had to do it, no matter how much it was hurting her to do so. Bickslow may not love her the way she did him, but it was because she did that she wanted him to make sure he was happy. And if that just meant letting him have a chance of being with the person she already knew made him happier than she herself could, then so be it.

She had to help the idiot realise he was in love with someone else, even if it was the last thing she ever did for him.

So really just seeing no other choice but to come close to actually spelling it out for Bickslow, she was grabbing his hands to hold them in her own and giving the man a small yet sad smile. "Bix."

"I don't get it…" he whispered. He knew there was no changing her mind at that point, but still… He didn't get it.

"I know you care about her, Bix," Flare said softly. "I saw it with my own eyes. I saw how much you love her."

Bickslow shook his head. "I don't. Lucy and I… We're just… We're just friends. There's nothing between us, I promise."

"I didn't even say her name, you know."

 _You didn't?_ "W-Well, you… You were talking about her before…" he mumbled. Who else would Flare have meant anyway?

"I could have meant someone else…" she pointed out. She hadn't meant anyone else, of course, but the point was that she could have, yet Bickslow still thought of Lucy first. And she really didn't doubt that they were just friends and that there wasn't really anything between them, but she knew that was just down to Bickslow (at the very least, because she wasn't sure how Lucy felt, having only met her once) not even realising how he felt. Flare just wanted him to see. "You love her, Bickslow. I know you do."

"I don't."

"You at least have feelings for her."

He couldn't help but look away then, and he supposed that was as good as giving her an answer, though it wasn't all that intentional. It wasn't like he didn't have feelings for Lucy, because he did and he had for a long time. It was just that Bickslow hadn't found it prudent that Flare know he had a bit of a crush (and a very bad one at times, at that) on another woman, because he'd been dealing with it. He'd been just mostly ignoring his own feelings, just like he had Lucy's, because there hadn't been anything to be done about it. What had mattered to Bickslow for all that time was that he loved Flare.

Still, even with them breaking up and Flare letting him say how he felt, he just couldn't. It made him feel guilty. Instead, he only mumbled while continuing to look at the coffee table, "I don't love her."

Because he loved Flare.

…Right?

And maybe, that was all Flare would be get from Bickslow anyway, no matter how hard she tried. Maybe he wasn't ready to admit to himself that all that time he'd been slowly falling in love with someone else, but Flare thought that was fine now. She was sure he'd accept it on his own at some point, and she hoped that he was already on his way to accepting it. Just saying what he had was enough for the time being, even if it still really did hurt her.

So all Flare did was smile softly again as she leaned forward to kiss his cheek, then rose to her feet to pick up her bag to leave. "I'll stop by during the week while you're at work to pick up my things if that's okay."

He was in a bit of a daze by that point, his mind still trying to process everything that had happened, so all he did was nod. "Yeah, uh… Yeah, that's fine…"

"And Bickslow?"

There was a strange sense of hopefulness in her voice that had Bickslow suddenly turning back around to face Flare where she stood in the archway, ready to leave. "Y-Yeah?"

"Don't wait too long."

* * *

Lucy was more surprised than worried when Bickslow came into work forty-five minutes late that morning. She'd just assumed he wouldn't be in that day when she'd gotten there earlier and his cubicle had been empty, because he was just never late and he almost never let her get there before he did. But for him to be close to an hour late? That was new for Bickslow.

"I didn't think you'd be in today," she said as Bickslow quickly sat down at his desk. "You missed the meeting this morning."

Except Bickslow didn't even do so much as acknowledge her, almost as if he hadn't even heard her, and in all the time Lucy had known and worked with Bickslow, she couldn't remember that ever happening. He'd never just… ignored her. And she couldn't help but worry.

"…Bickslow?"

He heard her that time, and his head popped back up from where he'd been going through his satchel on the floor. "Huh?" If anything, Bickslow just hadn't really noticed Lucy until then, and he wasn't quite sure how it had happened.

"Are you okay?" she asked him softly.

Bickslow looked down to his desk. "Uh… Yeah, I… I guess…" he said slowly. It was the first time he'd actually wondered whether he was okay since Flare had called off the engagement the previous night. He'd just been up the entire night trying to help Flare out a little by gathering up some of her things to make it easier for her to collect later on, but it was mostly because he hadn't been able to shut his mind off.

All night he'd just been thinking about it all and trying to make sense of it, but for the most part, he was still as confused as ever. Especially since he wasn't as heartbroken as he felt like he should be. His girlfriend of three and a half years giving him back her engagement ring and walking out on him didn't hurt as much as he knew it should have. He'd just come to realise at some point in the night that it was okay; that it wasn't such a bad thing to happen.

But when it came to who Bickslow loved, he just didn't really know where to begin. Because the more he'd thought about what Flare had said about him loving Lucy, the more he'd begun to question just how much he'd loved _Flare_ , and the only conclusion that he'd been able to come to was that it hadn't been nearly as much as he'd thought, and not nearly as much as she'd deserved.

He'd thought that Flare had been the one he loved. But he knew now that she wasn't (or maybe he really did love her, just not in the way he'd always thought), and the guilt he'd felt from realising that hurt more than them breaking up at all.

And with Lucy… Bickslow just didn't know. He didn't even know if Flare was right and he was actually in love with Lucy, because he didn't have anything to _compare_ it to. Before Flare, he hadn't ever really felt that way about someone – she'd basically been his first _real_ relationship – but now he knew that none of what he'd felt had even been all that real, so he didn't know what it was _supposed_ to feel like. He didn't know what he was supposed to feel like when he was with someone he was actually in love with.

All Bickslow knew was that he cared about Lucy a hell of a lot more than he ever should have let himself. And that despite having his fiancée break up with him less than twenty-four hours earlier, he was okay.

"Are you sure?" Lucy asked softly again. "You don't seem it…"

He looked up to give Lucy a small but surprisingly genuine smile. "I'm fine, I promise," he whispered. "It's just uh… Flare and I broke up last night."

Lucy clasped a hand over her mouth as she gasped. "Oh god… Bickslow! I'm so sorry…"

He shrugged. "Don't be. It's fine." Lucy feeling sorry for him wasn't really what he wanted. "It was, uh… It was for the best, y'know?" he continued softly. "We wouldn't have worked out." And he knew that now, as strangely difficult as it was to admit that still. He couldn't marry someone or spend his life with someone he didn't truly love, especially not when he felt the way he did about Lucy.

"Bickslow, don't say that…" Lucy murmured. "I know how much you love her. You two… You're good together."

Bickslow shrugged again. _Not as much as you think._

"What even happened between you?" she asked.

"Nothing, really. We just… We realised it wouldn't have worked out." He could only glance back to Lucy from the corner of his eyes as he typed in his login, before he quietly added, "Besides… I wouldn't have made a very good husband to her if I was interested in someone else." That really just made him the _worst_ husband, and Bickslow didn't want to be a horrible husband.

Lucy really didn't know what Bickslow meant by that and she most certainly couldn't begin to think of who he'd supposedly be interested in, but she didn't think it was her place to ask more questions. Bickslow was most definitely not as okay as he claimed to be, especially if he'd been close to an hour late for work, and she could already tell that his break-up was not something he wished to talk about all that much. She could respect that, though.

So Lucy only smiled softly and rolled her chair forward so she could place her hand on his arm. "Well, I'm still incredibly sorry for you, Bix. And if you ever want to talk, I'll be here, okay?"

Bickslow just returned the small smile with a nod. _Maybe it's a good thing she didn't get that I was talking about her…_

* * *

Flare's words had been stuck in his head all week. It had taken him a couple of days to figure out what she'd meant by not waiting too long, but then he'd realised that she'd meant Lucy. And for the remainder of that week, all Bickslow had been thinking about was telling Lucy how he felt, because the woman had just completely missed the point of him mentioning that the reason his marriage wouldn't have worked out with Flare was because he was interested in someone else.

Somewhere deep down Bickslow knew that telling Lucy wasn't really the best idea, especially since he really had just gotten out of a long relationship and he had a feeling Lucy wouldn't believe a single word he said because she'd just think he was rebounding… But more than anything, Bickslow just wanted her to know, because he'd spent far too long being horribly ignorant of how it was he really felt.

And he really just didn't want to wait any longer. He'd waited long enough, and the fact that he still didn't even have everything figured out didn't bother him. What mattered was that he'd figured out _enough_ to know that he couldn't stand to just ignore his feelings for another day.

So he just got in his car and drove over to Lucy's house to be impatiently knocking on her door at nine thirty on a Sunday night.

It was Natsu who answered the door with the Russian Blue named Happy circling his legs as usual. It didn't surprise Bickslow to see that Natsu wasn't exactly pleased to see him, but just as Bickslow had never been interested in finding out just what it was Lucy's best friend had against him every other time they'd met, he didn't care to find out right then, either. He could do that later.

"Is Lucy here?" he asked, completely skipping any kind of actual polite greeting, even if that probably wasn't the best idea since he had just shown up unannounced after 9 p.m.

"Yeah… She's upstairs…" Natsu answered cautiously. He stepped back to let the taller man in and picked up his cat before calling up the stairs behind him for his roommate. "Oi, Luce! It's for you!"

Lucy hadn't thought to grab something to put on over her pyjamas – just cute shorts and an old college t-shirt of hers – when she came rushing out to see who it was, but when she looked down the stairs from where she stood at the top of them and saw Bickslow standing with Natsu before he turned his attention up to her, she was quickly regretting her decision to come out in her pyjamas. All she could do was make some kind of shriek before quickly darting back off into her room to grab something else to put on. She didn't even have a bra on! And her shirt really deserved to be donated to the bin.

She came back out with a robe wrapped tightly around herself and slowly began descending the stairs, one step at a time. "Bickslow? I… I wasn't expecting you…"

"Um, yeah…" he mumbled. "Sorry I came by so late, I just… There was something I wanted to talk to you about." Although Bickslow had to admit that there was something strangely enticing about Lucy standing on the middle step in just her pyjamas and without a single ounce of makeup on. He'd never seen her like that, either, but he liked it.

"Oh. Okay then." She assumed it probably had something to do with his break-up, and as glad as she'd been to know that Bickslow hadn't really wanted to talk about any of it at all, she'd still offered to lend an ear if he ever needed it. "Did you want anything to drink or…?"

He shook his head as he slowly climbed to meet her on the stairs. "No, thank you." He stopped two steps below her and found himself level with the blonde, and just watched as Lucy watched him and waited for whatever it was that was supposed to come next. Except Bickslow didn't know what was supposed to come next, because all he could think about was just how he was realising he wanted to kiss her right then.

Lucy didn't really notice how his eyes kept flicking between her own and down to her lips as she gently asked, "Are you alright?"

"Oh, yeah. Sure. I just… Uh…" And surprisingly, Bickslow knew very well that leaning forward just that last bit to actually press his lips to Lucy's wasn't even close to making it to the top five of his best ever ideas. But he had just really, _really_ needed to do it. When he pulled back though – admittedly before he'd have liked but still later than he'd expected – and saw how utterly shocked Lucy was as she stared at him with wide eyes, he didn't even get a chance to apologise before she was turning around and running back up the stairs and away from him. "W-Wait, Lucy—"

"If she's crying, I will personally kick your ass so hard you'll never sit the same way again," Natsu decided to chime in threateningly. Even Happy meowed.

Bickslow could only nod before quickly going to find Lucy.

She was in her room and nervously pacing, so Bickslow decided to knock on her doorframe before diving headfirst into an apology. "God, Lucy, I'm sorry for kissing you like that. I shouldn't have—"

"Why?" Lucy asked before he could finish.

"Why what?"

"Why are you here?" Because she suddenly doubted that Bickslow was there to talk about how sad he was that his fiancée had left him. Or if he was, he was going about it in a really weird way.

"Because I, uh… I need to talk to you." Bickslow looked around nervously before taking a cautious step forward and gesturing back to the door. "Do you mind…?"

Lucy nodded quickly when he stepped into her room and dashed to close it and give them some privacy. She'd just tell Natsu about what happened later, because she told Natsu absolutely everything. It was just that for now, she needed to deal with Bickslow first. So she just stood in front of her now closed door with her arms folded and waited for Bickslow to say anything that made one tiny lick of sense.

Bickslow was far more nervous than he'd expected to be, though, so he didn't quite know where to begin. But it wasn't exactly like he could stand there and try and figure it out, because he, of course, hadn't bothered coming up with any kinds of plans for how he'd tell Lucy (and kissing her would've ruined any plan he'd had anyway). He just didn't have the time to think right then. He just had to… _do_.

"So, uh… You know that Flare and I broke up…" he began, internally grimacing because he was sure talking about his ex was a super horrible idea.

"Less than a week ago…" Lucy mumbled.

"Yeah. Well, uh… Do you remember when you asked me if I was okay? And I said that it was for the best because, you know, I was interested in someone else?"

She shifted uncomfortably and gave a small nod. The fact that Bickslow was supposedly into someone else was not something she'd wanted to be reminded of. It was hard enough to deal with the fact that she really was incapable of falling _out_ of love with him and she was sure she wouldn't have actually been able to see him get married because of it, but finding out he'd already been into someone else before she'd even found out about his engagement getting called off had only made her curl up in a ball on her bed. She was almost sure Bickslow could date every single woman on the planet before he even found her _somewhat_ appealing or dateable.

Bickslow had to refrain from just groaning with how frustrated he actually was right then. He got that he wasn't being very direct with telling Lucy how he felt, but she was smart, and he thought she would've figured it out by then.

Then again, he could only assume that she was just as confused as he was (or had been, at least) right then about everything, and even if he'd been well aware of how Lucy had had feelings for him for such a long time, he doubted Lucy had known he'd felt the same way. She just didn't really have any reason to assume that the person he meant was her.

So he had to be as direct as he possibly could.

"Why do you think I'm here right now, Lucy?" he asked softly, stepping towards her just so he could try and unfold her arms.

Lucy shrugged and kept her hands tightly tucked under her arms. "I… I don't know," she mumbled. She was getting worried about finding out just why Bickslow was there that night, though, because she was sure tears would be shed at some point. She just hoped it was _after_ he'd left.

"Because I meant _you_ , Sunshine," Bickslow whispered. "I'm here now because I really needed you to know how much I care about you."

Lucy's plan of waiting until Bickslow was gone to start tearing up had already completely backfired. She'd really only dreamt about having Bickslow tell her that, but in all of her dreams, he'd actually meant it. And he didn't mean it right then. He couldn't mean it. "You d-don't…" she stammered. "You don't mean it."

"Of course I mean it."

Lucy shook her head and pulled herself away just to walk around him and sit on the edge of her bed. "You're just confused a-and upset because of Flare…"

"You're the only one that's upset right now," he said as he crouched down in front of her instead. He knew he needed to get her to stop crying before Natsu found out, though. He was just a _little_ scared of the cat owner. "And I really hate that I don't even know _why_ you're upset."

"Because… Because I'm r-really, ridiculously in love w-with you," Lucy found herself blurting out as she kept staring down to her lap. "But I know you love F-Flare, a-and that at best, all I'm ever going t-to be is… Is a r-rebound…" And she was better than that. She wasn't so desperate that she'd take the only thing that would ever be offered to her.

 _She… She loves me?_ As much as Bickslow wished he could say it back to her, he just couldn't, because he didn't know. He thinks it's true, though – hopes it is, even. But he knew right then that saying that he _thinks_ he's in love with her wasn't the right thing to do, and Bickslow really didn't want to say something like that just for him to realise that he'd never meant it later on, even if he already knew that it was different with Lucy.

But what Bickslow knew he could do right then, was try and prove to Lucy that none of it was really about Flare. Not anymore.

He cautiously lifted his hands to cup her cheeks and have her looking back at him, though it only hurt to actually see her like that. And because of him, no less. "I don't love Flare," he insisted gently. "I mean, I… I thought I did. But I don't. Not like I should. And you…"

Lucy tried shaking her head. "Bix, p-please… Just d-don't…" She'd already made a complete embarrassment of herself by saying what she'd never intended to ever say out loud. She just wished he'd go home and leave her to wallow in peace.

"Hey, just hear me out, okay?" he pleaded, only catching her tears with his thumbs and swiping them off her cheeks gently. "Please, just hear me out. That's all I ask. And if you want me gone after, then I'll leave you in peace. Just… hear me out first." Bickslow, of course, _hoped_ Lucy wouldn't want him gone after, but with the way things were going so far, he wasn't really sure how it would actually turn out.

So when Lucy gave just a small nod, he continued.

"But you…" he said, "You were always there. And I loved that you were because you always made things better. And _god_ , did I hate my job before you started working there. I really did, you know, and I was thinking of quitting and going and working at… At a bar or something like that."

"A bar?"

"Yeah, a bar," Bickslow chuckled. "But then this super awesome girl came in one day and sat down at the empty desk next to mine, and she made my job a lot less horrible."

Lucy couldn't help but let out a watery giggle.

"…And then I started to realise that I cared about that super awesome girl a little more than I should," he continued. "And that that super awesome girl probably cared about me a little more than normal, too."

"Oh god… Oh no…" Lucy whispered. _He knew that I liked him?!_

He dropped his hands from her face when she tried to turn away again and rose to sat on the edge of the bed next to her instead. "But I didn't really do anything about any of it, because I just didn't want to," Bickslow continued again. "And even when… Even when I started seeing Flare and we, uh… kinda started getting serious, I didn't think I needed to do anything about how I thought you felt about me… Or how _I_ felt about _you_."

She felt as if Bickslow was telling the truth right then – and a huge part of her really did wish he was – but there was still something that was stopping her from believing him. It almost seemed like it was just too good to be true, for Bickslow to have actually felt something close to the same as her for as long as she had.

With a sigh, Bickslow was adding, "And then I found myself caring about you more and more – far more than I should've since I was with someone else – and I still just didn't really care. I guess I just… liked it. I liked it too much to think about putting an end to any of it. And I know that makes me a really bad person—"

"Kinda makes you a jerk, to be honest," Lucy mumbled. She just felt so sorry for Flare.

"I uh, I guess so," Bickslow admitted with another chuckle. "But I just… I didn't really want how I felt to ever go away." He dragged a hand across his face and let out another sigh before continuing, "My point is, I'm not… I'm not confused. Or upset. Or hurt, or anything like that because of Flare. I'm just… I'm tired. I'm tired because I've spent so long just… Just being _aware_ of how I feel, and with the last week and everything I've been thinking about, I just knew that I had to actually tell you how I feel, because I've realised a lot of things that I really should have realised earlier. So… So when I say that I care about you a ridiculously huge amount, I really mean it."

And just actually saying it, Bickslow was more relieved than he'd ever expected to be. The only problem was that he really didn't think Lucy believed him or even wanted him to be there. And that was okay, he supposed. Bickslow didn't know what he'd even expected to happen after telling her that it really always been her who'd meant the most to him (he'd had his hopes, of course), but he'd asked her to hear him out and she'd done just that.

Well, and called him a jerk, which had been completely warranted.

But she'd listened, and even though Bickslow really did wish for just a little more, just being able to tell her was enough for now.

So Bickslow just slowly rose to his feet before shoving his hands into the pockets of his jacket. "But, um… That's all I wanted you to hear," he mumbled. "So I guess I'll just leave you to it…"

Except he didn't even get to the door before Lucy was fighting against her better judgement and quickly rising to her feet. "Wait."

* * *

Bickslow was up long before Lucy's alarm went off on her phone and he didn't mind that one tiny bit. He'd just been blissfully content with keeping his eyes closed and continuing to rest, because he'd had Lucy next to him and he'd thought it was pretty damn perfect.

Especially since all he had to do to be holding the woman he loved in his arms was reach forward just a tiny bit.

And Bickslow knew now that that was how he truly felt: that he loved her. Maybe he had all along, too, but that much Bickslow hadn't been able to figure out. What mattered to him was that right then, he was very much in love with her. He'd never really been so certain of anything in his entire life.

When Lucy made to get out of bed after switching off her alarm, Bickslow was only sitting up enough to have his arm snake around her waist and pull her back down to the bed. "Don't get up," he murmured.

He could feel her tense when her back became pressed against his chest, and Bickslow knew in an instant – before she'd even let herself relax again after just a second – that it was because there was still a part of her that was hesitant to believe she wasn't simply being used as some sort of distraction by him. It was just like he knew that touches like that – ones that were not at all innocent – were still new and foreign to her. At least from him, anyway.

But he didn't want her to be uncomfortable, nor did he want her to feel like she really wasn't worth that much to him, because it was just so far from the truth. He just had to find a way to make her believe… But he was working on that.

"But… But it's Monday. We have work…" Lucy pointed out.

"Call in sick."

"I can't do that."

"Sure you can," Bickslow said, only lifting his arm again to let Lucy turn onto her back. "It's just one day. And then you can spend it with me."

"But you have work, too."

"I'll call in sick as well."

Lucy just continued lacing her fingers together anxiously above her chest as she tried desperately to figure out what to do. She was completely certain that just going to work was the right thing to do. But after the previous night, and with Bickslow having stayed… Something was telling her to just see what could actually happen.

All Lucy could manage to do then was glance to Bickslow from the corner of her eyes as she slowly and quietly asked, "So… If we both did call in sick, what would we do today instead?"

"Well…" Bickslow propped himself up on an elbow. "We could go get married somewhere."

And just like that, Lucy was regretting her decision to indulge Bickslow's crazy idea. She'd been stupid enough to blurt out she was in love with him, so she'd just been waiting for it to be thrown back in her face in the worst way possible. Lucy was sure it was some kind of miracle it had taken that long at all. Still, she didn't want Bickslow of all people _teasing_ her about it. She just couldn't deal with that.

So she made to get out of bed as quickly as she could, only for Bickslow to pull her back down again. "Bix, don't—"

"Come on, I was only joking," he chuckled. "Sort of."

"That's really not funny," Lucy mumbled.

He smiled apologetically before softly kissing her cheek and whispering, "I know. I'm sorry." Bickslow just made a mental note to stave from suggesting actually getting married for at least a few months (if things even worked out the way he hoped, anyway). But with Lucy obviously not in the mood to elope just yet, he sighed before he gave her his serious suggestions for what their day could entail. "We could… maybe go somewhere for breakfast. Or brunch. Or lunch. There's probably a few decent movies showing at the moment, so we could go see a movie if you wanted. I think that circus is still in town for a few more nights, too."

"Maybe…"

"Or… If you didn't want to go out anywhere, we could always just stay here. Or maybe go to my house, if you wanted to do that. I have a pretty awesome movie collection, just sayin'."

Lucy only shrugged. She really wasn't sure what she wanted to do, or what was even best considering the circumstances. So she just asked Bickslow instead, "What would you prefer to do?"

"Me? I'd be quite fine staying here, if that was fine with you, of course," he answered. "Because that way, I get to do this." He slowly leaned forward just to lightly kiss the corner of her mouth, then added softly, "And tell you that I love you."

"Y-You… uh…" Lucy paused to ease the dryness in her mouth. "You don't have to say that. It's okay."

"But I want to say it, because I mean it." He wasn't just saying it to make her feel better, which he knew was exactly what Lucy was thinking right then. He wholeheartedly meant it, and just really wanted Lucy to know that and actually believe him. "I love you, Sunshine. I really do. And I'm sorry it took me so long to even realise that it _always_ you."

"Do you really mean that?" she whispered.

"Completely."

And… Lucy believed him. She'd hoped that all of it was actually real before, but she just hadn't been able to believe it then. She'd just been too scared of getting her heart completely broken that she'd told herself that it was all just Bickslow trying to find a way to mask the pain of his break-up with Flare. Even then though, Lucy was still worried about Flare, but at the very least, she knew Bickslow meant every word he said.

So she was just rolling over on the mattress again to be curled up against his chest, and with her head just slightly lower than Bickslow's, she was tilting her own head up to softly press her lips to his in a sweet and tender kiss. "You already know I love you too," she whispered. But then her smile was faltering and she was asking, "But… What about Flare? I mean, it was only a week ago. Are you sure you don't want to… wait? You two were together for a long time…"

"Don't worry about Flare. Everything is fine," Bickslow answered softly. "And why would I want to wait? All I want it this – _you_. I don't want to wait for that. Not unless I really have to." And he got that it was Lucy's way of asking if he wanted to go out and actually remember what it was like to not be attached to someone for a little while and actually be single, but he wasn't interested in that. Not in the slightest.

Lucy only gave a silent nod with a smile curling on her lips, before sighing happily when Bickslow began threading his fingers through her hair gently and tucking it behind her ear. She still believed him.

"Do you remember why I started calling you Sunshine?" he asked when the open window on the wall behind Lucy began filtering the rising sun's light and warmth into the room and over the bed.

"Of course I do." She smiled when she began to feel that warmth on her bare shoulders. "You said," she began, eyes still closed. "That my hair was the colour of sunshine when the sun was shining on it."

And it had been her first day there, too, Bickslow remembered. And with the sun's rays shining through the strands he kept tucking behind her ear, he could only remember how happy and warm it had always made him feel when he saw it like that.

And he knew then, that as long as he had his Sunshine, everything would be perfect.

* * *

 **A/Ns:** _Ah, so, I finally got something finished. I feel like it's been forever since I got something updated, but it really hasn't been that long. But as far as this story goes, I just really wanted to write something where Lucy was the one that was stuck being in love with someone, instead of Bix for a change, which I have an awful habit of doing._

 _And, in case anyone was wondering... Yes, this most definitely could have gone in a very M rated direction for the end. (Vitamin D, anyone? Ahem...)_

 _On another note, I did just want to mention my other stories for a second. Since I am back at uni and things are a little (very) hectic at the moment, I don't get time to write all that much. So, like I have written on my profile, updates will be slow. Because of this, I have decided to start keeping my profile updated with what I'm currently working on. It's only going to include stories and chapters I have started working on. If a chapter story of mine is not on that list, it does not mean I have abandoned it. It just means I haven't found the time (or inspiration) to start working on a particular chapter._

 _I hope that clears up any questions anyone who reads my other stories might have wanted to ask me. And, as much as I know I need to update Souls and Spirits, it won't be the next one to be updated at this rate. I'm expecting it to either be another one of the one-shots on the list (which will be added to this collection, so make sure to follow this to be notified of it!), or How I Met You._

 _I hope you liked this one-shot though. I love love love writing Modern AUs, especially ones like this. And if you did like it, please remember to let me know what you thought! And don't forget to follow/favourite for more ridiculous one-shots._

 _Until next time._


	3. Wedding Date (T)

_**Summary** : Bickslow really needs a wedding date. The only problem is that he has no idea who to ask, and he's running out of time to find someone to take. Desperate to not go stag (and face the wrath of one of the brides), he asks Lucy: the girl who always orders coffee from him at two in the morning. _

_**Rating** : T (It probably should be M for some adult references but... This is pretty tame.)_

 _Note: I haven't had a chance to proof this again, so mistakes will be fixed shortly._

* * *

 **Wedding Date**

* * *

It was just another long and quiet night where Bickslow didn't really have much to do at work. He worked the night shift at a café, one that was for some ridiculous reason open twenty-four hours, six days of the week. Even being in the middle of the city and just a couple of blocks from the city's main train station, not many people visited the café at night – at least on the nights he worked anyway. He could count on both hands the amount of customers he got between midnight and five.

Bickslow didn't mind how quiet it was, though. There were always at least one or two customers in there all night so he was never alone and always had someone to talk to if he wanted to, and even when he had no drinks to make or anything to clean, he always had something to do.

He read for the most part. There was always reading to be done for some of his university classes or assignments to start working on, and he was the kind of student who spent more time procrastinating than anything, so it was a good thing he had the job he did. He wouldn't really do his work otherwise. And considering how quiet it was in the café in the middle of night, he was actually quite productive. He was dead tired on the days he had to go to class after doing his night shift, but he lived.

That night though, Bickslow really did welcome the quiet chime of the bell on the door from a customer walking in. He'd been trying to read the same paragraph of an assigned article for twenty minutes and he desperately needed a break and a distraction from his study.

Sighing, he dragged his hands down his face and looked up from his books strewn over the table by the counter he'd taken over for the night and to the customer who'd just walked in. He wasn't that surprised to see one of the late night (er, early morning) regulars heading for the counter since it was usually those who visited that late, but that was part of what made his job so easy – they all usually ordered the same thing and he'd gotten the usual orders down.

"Morning, Lucy," Bickslow sighed tiredly to the blonde as he stood up. Lucy was one of his favourites. The first time she'd stopped by at two in the morning for her late night caffeine fix it had actually been Halloween and he just hadn't been able to stop himself from calling her a cosplayer, though Bickslow had quickly realised it was a nickname Lucy did not particularly enjoy. But it wasn't his fault the woman could pull off a red Star Trek lieutenant uniform ridiculously well.

Still, she was one of the nicest customers to deal with in the middle of the night since she was never off her face and always in a surprisingly good mood. He always liked it when Lucy stopped by on her way home.

Lucy could only roll her eyes at the blue-and-black haired barista as she pulled her purse from her bag. "It's not morning, you dweeb."

He shrugged. "It's two. It's totally morning."

"Ugh, but you can't say good morning to me when I haven't even gone to bed yet," Lucy groaned. "It's just so weird and depressing."

"Yeah, yeah… Alright," he chuckled, leaning his elbow on the counter and in front of the till. Really, it was an argument they had at least once a week, but he still wasn't sick of it. Two was totally an acceptable time to say good morning to someone. "Anyway, what do you want tonight, girlie? The usual?"

Lucy nodded before passing him her rewards card – well, one of them. She'd gone through a lot of them, but hey, free coffee. That was always good. "Please. Just a medium though."

"Extra shot tonight?"

"Not tonight. I don't want to be awake _all_ night," she giggled quietly. It was bad enough she'd was still awake at all considering she still had classes and lectures to attend during the day, but the awkward hospital shift was the only thing she could manage since she was still studying. "I just need something to stop me from falling asleep on the train on my way home…"

"Ah. Gotcha." He grabbed the foam cup from the bench behind him before quickly putting Lucy's order through on the register and stating the total.

It was as Bickslow was adding the hazelnut syrup to the coffee that his mind wandered back to the upcoming wedding of two of his closest friends that he'd been invited to. It was that weekend, and aside from the fact that there was an open bar, he really wanted to go. There was just one thing Bickslow had been worrying about: the part where him bringing a date was required.

That had been Mira's – one of the brides – wish. Erza had supposedly tried getting her fiancée to change her mind on that front, but alas, it had failed. Mira didn't want any 'sad, lonely, and single' people at her wedding, so anyone attending just had to bring a date. They'd even accounted for that with their seating and catering, and Bickslow couldn't help but wonder just how many would be turning up.

Still though, Bickslow was most definitely not sad or lonely. He was, however, single. He didn't care much, though. Who had time for a girlfriend when he worked most nights and spent all of his free time sleeping or studying? But his lack of girlfriend meant he had absolutely no fucking clue who take as his date to Mira and Erza's wedding, and his lack of time to get a girlfriend meant he didn't really know that many women in general, surprisingly – not ones that he could actually ask to be his date to a wedding, anyway.

So Bickslow had a dilemma. And he really didn't like being in a dilemma, because he wasn't supposed to be stressing about a wedding that wasn't even his.

But… There was one possible solution to his dilemma, and she happened to be standing right in front of him. She also happened to go by the name of Lucy and have a fondness for hazelnut lattes with too much sugar to be legal, but hey, Bickslow didn't judge.

Lucy wouldn't be the worst person to ask though, Bickslow was quickly realising. She was nice enough and seemed like a decent person, but that wasn't even what was important, really. The fact that he liked to think they were kind of friends was the most important part, because if he was going to go to that wedding, he really didn't want to ask a complete stranger to be his date for the night. That was just ten kinds of crazy.

Asking Lucy to be his date to the wedding was just… _nine_ kinds of crazy.

He could handle that amount of crazy. The question was just if Lucy could. And really, he was doubting it. But he at least had to try, right?

"So, uh, weird question," he said as he set the coffee down on the counter in front of Lucy. "And I mean, you can totally say no. I'm expecting you to say no, actually…"

Lucy only flicked her eyes up to the tall man as she tore open one of the sugar packets she'd taken.

The barista only took to grabbing the nearest cloth to absentmindedly wipe down the bench as he cleared his throat. "Did you uh, maybe want to go to a wedding?" he asked as quickly as he could. It wasn't even like he was asking her on a date or anything, but he almost felt like he was. He was nervous enough.

In her shock, Lucy ended up spilling the packet sugar all over the bench in front of her. She didn't even think a single grain of sugar landed in her coffee as she looked to Bickslow with wide eyes. "To a w-wedding?" she stammered with a small voice. "Like… Like with you? As your… date?"

"Um, yeah."

"O-Oh… I see…" She hadn't known Bickslow liked her that way. Surely she hadn't missed him making it obvious. She'd feel terrible if she had, but Lucy wanted to assume she hadn't just been oblivious to it. It wasn't like that made it any easier to turn Bickslow down though, because as strangely cute as he was, Lucy just didn't like him that way.

Of course, it didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that what he'd said had been misinterpreted, so he knew he wasn't off to a very good start. "It's not what you think, really," he quickly tried explaining himself with his face quickly heating up as he grabbed a damp cloth to wipe up the spilled sugar.

"Um…" Lucy wasn't sure how that could be true, but she'd hear him out anyway.

He sighed. "Okay, the thing is, two of my friends are getting married on the weekend, and one of the brides is making a big deal about everyone bringing a date."

"Okay…" she mumbled, stirring her coffee gently with the stick.

"And uh, I don't actually have a girlfriend so I can't really ask her because she doesn't exist, and I don't really know that many people anyway because I surprisingly don't get out that much, which makes it kind of difficult to meet people and all… N-Not that I'm incapable of getting a girlfriend or anything, I just…" Bickslow shook his head. _Quit your rambling, moron. You don't want Lucy thinking you're actually sad and lonely, do you?_ Because he really was not sad and lonely. "The point is," he continued, getting back to the point and trying not to embarrass himself further because he could already see the smirk tugging at the corner of Lucy's lips and that wasn't necessarily a good thing. "I have a wedding to go to and I really, _really_ need a date for it."

"So you're asking me to be your date?"

"Correct. I said it was a weird question…"

Lucy couldn't even argue that, because it really was quite weird. Granted, it would've been weirder if he was actually asking her out, but what it had really turned out to be wasn't quite so strange. He was just asking her to the wedding because he didn't really have anyone else to ask. That was all.

"When did you say it was?" she asked with a _pop_ from the coffee lid as she placed it on the cup.

"Saturday," Bickslow replied. He thought it was good that she was asking when it was. _Maybe she's considering it._ "Saturday night."

"Well, I am free then…" Sure, she had some reading to do, but she could get that done on Sunday. She had to have breaks every now and then and go out and _somewhat_ enjoy herself.

He couldn't help but grin back at her then. "Yeah?"

Lucy only shrugged.

"I'll, uh… I'll give you free coffee for like a month if you come with me," he quickly said, only watching as Lucy raised an eyebrow.

"What about your boss?"

"Eh, he doesn't really care as long as the place still makes a profit." His boss didn't really care what he did most of the time. Though if the guy did question just why Bickslow was giving away free coffees a few times a week, he'd probably just say it was for a few homeless people that came in. They usually gave drinks away to the less fortunate, so at least it was believable.

Lucy hummed in thought for a moment just to watch Bickslow squirm. She'd already decided to help him (and that was even before finding out she'd get free coffee out of it), but it was late and she was tired and she found the barista strangely cute right then.

So then she simple nodded and said, "Alright."

"So you'll really come with me?"

"Sure, why not?"

"God, thank you, thank you!" He probably would've hugged her right then if it wasn't one, way too inappropriate, and two, there wasn't a counter separating them. Verbally was just going to have to do. "Really Lucy, you have no idea how much I appreciate this."

"It's okay," she said. Reaching for a napkin from the condiment stand at the end of the counter and pulling a pen from her bag, she was neatly writing her number on it to hand to Bickslow. "Text me tomorrow afternoon with what time you want to meet somewhere and where. I'd say call, but I'll probably not answer it…"

"Fair enough."

"Oh, and tell me what colour tie you're going to wear, too."

"My tie?" _Am I even going to wear a tie?_

She nodded. "So I can pick a dress that matches," she explained.

"Oh! Right." Mira would like that.

"Well, I best be off!" Lucy said with a bright smile after putting her pen back in her bag and picking up her coffee again. Bickslow only nodded as she stepped away, and when she turned to wave over her shoulder before going through the glass door, she couldn't help but giggle as she added, "See you Saturday!"

* * *

Bickslow had been so nervous about that he'd gotten to the café – it was just the easiest place to meet Lucy – close to half an hour earlier than he should've. Cobra had been giving him all kinds of hell for it, too. It had been the clothes at first, because the guy had never seen Bickslow in anything other than his usual jeans and borderline offensive but always highly amusing – graphic tees, and Cobra had been just a little surprised to see him in a vest and tie of all things. After Cobra had gotten over Bickslow's clothes, though, his teasing had just been about how nervous the guy was as he waited for his date. He hadn't been able to help himself from celebrating the fact that the guy finally had a little _crush_ on someone. In all the years Cobra had known him, the night fill barista hadn't had any interest whatsoever in the dating world.

But Bickslow didn't care about Cobra giving him hell. As long as he brought him coffee.

Thankfully though, Lucy was a little early too, so Bickslow wasn't having to put up with Cobra's teasing for very long. Lucy only sighed quietly in relief when she saw Bickslow sitting in the corner booth. "Oh, good. I was hoping you'd be there," she giggled a little when she came up to his booth. "I didn't want to be waiting awkwardly for god knows how long."

"Yeah, well… I have a habit of getting to places ridiculously early, I guess," Bickslow mumbled. He stood just to slide his now empty coffee cup into one of the bins, then gestured to the door after picking up his matching suit jacket again. "Shall we go?"

"If you're ready, sure."

Thankful that Cobra didn't have any remarks to add, Bickslow only followed Lucy out onto the busy path and then slipped his jacket on over his shoulders. He felt just a little awkward all of a sudden, and he was seriously questioning his sanity then, too. What kind of moron asked someone who was basically a stranger to be their date to a goddamn wedding? And even then, what kind of moron actually _agreed_ to be someone's date to a wedding? Not that Lucy was a moron or anything…

But still, it was kind of moronic. He cleared his throat with a quick glance to Lucy beside him before he said, "You know you really don't have to do this. I mean, you can still change your mind and get out of it." Bickslow wouldn't even blame her if she did leave. The entire thing was completely ridiculous.

"No, come on. Why would I do that? I told you I'd go," Lucy responded before gently nudging his arm with her elbow and adding, "Besides, you're the one that said you weren't allowed to go if you didn't have a date. You totally need me right now."

"Well, I mean… It really wouldn't be the end of the world if I didn't go…"

"Bickslow, I'm not changing my mind." She couldn't help but giggle. "I'm getting free booze _and_ free coffee out of this too, remember. And anyway, where exactly else do you think I'll be able to go on a Saturday evening dressed like this?"

Surprisingly, Bickslow hadn't really paid much attention to what Lucy was wearing – he'd really just been too busy wondering just what the fuck had possessed him to ask Lucy to be his wedding date. But, glancing back to her and letting his eyes linger just a little longer than he probably should've, Bickslow found himself glad for listening to Lucy when she told him (in a text, of course) that a purple tie was just so much better than a red tie. He'd honestly thought it was just a little strange since she'd been on the one to suggest the entire _matching_ thing in the first place, but he really had to agree with her. Purple was so much nicer than red.

And only to himself, Bickslow would admit that the lavender pencil dress she was wearing that only slightly matched the _eggplant_ tie he was wearing (or at least, that was what Lucy had called it after she'd demanded he send her a picture of it to see just what kind of purple it was) was a lot better to look at on the blonde, rather than what she wore when she ordered coffee from him was. "You could go anywhere you want dressed like that," he mumbled. "But, uh… You look nice though."

"Oh, why thank you. You don't look too bad yourself. You look much better without the apron."

"Hey, don't judge the apron."

Lucy giggled again as she shook her head. "I'm not judging the apron." Well, she was. Just a little bit. But the guy really did just look better without it… Or maybe it was just because he was in a suit and she had a bit of a weakness for guys in well-fitting suits – just like every other woman on that planet.

When they made it onto the subway a little while later and when Bickslow started mostly ignoring her to look at his phone (not that she cared much anyway because it wasn't really like they had anything to talk about, and it was just a little awkward), Lucy couldn't help but keep glancing back to the man sitting beside her. She really liked the vest.

* * *

After finally getting married (really, they'd only been waiting to be able to do so for years), Mira and Erza made a point of going around and meeting everyone's dates. Mira's reasoning for it had just been about wanting to spread the joy and the love and the happiness. Though it didn't help that she and Erza had invited far too many people (not that it was a bad thing, because they'd always wanted a big wedding with all of their friends) and there were just a few people she wanted to go and find, just to see if they'd actually made it at all. Mira already knew that more than a few who had RSVP'd to be there hadn't actually turned up, but that was fine. It happens.

After finding Laxus and Evergreen at their table, Mira had really just wanted to go and find Bickslow. He'd said he'd be there (and with a date, as per the invitation demanded), but Mira really wouldn't have been surprised if Bickslow had been one of the ones who hadn't ended up being able to make it that night. She'd only been trying to set the guy up with someone for years (it had only seemed fair), but he just seemingly wasn't interested in even going on a single date with anyone at all. It made her feel horrible sometimes.

Still, when Laxus and Evergreen had said that Bickslow was in fact there, and actually with a date, Mira had been more than surprised. And she'd basically just run off through the tables with her wife trailing behind her as she headed for the bar which was where Bickslow supposedly was with his date.

"Bickslow!"

He set his drink back down on the bar when he heard his name being called and looked over his shoulder. He might've been slightly terrified to see the brides running towards him at a rate that actually amazed him (he'd never been able to understand how women are capable of running in heels), if it weren't for the fact that the bride at the front just looked genuinely happy right then. But, really, it was her wedding day, after all.

"Mira, hey!" He turned just to quickly hug the bride before returning to leaning on the bar beside Lucy. "You two look amazing. I'm really thankful for you letting me be a part of all this. It's wonderful, really," Bickslow said softly.

"Well, so far, everything is going according to plan and it's perfect," Mira sighed happily. She was just waiting for some kind of brawl to break out, though. "But I'm so glad you could make it!"

Erza nodded. "We didn't really expect you to be here, to be honest…"

"What? Come on! You think I'd have missed you getting married?" Bickslow responded. He was honestly just a little offended.

Mira shrugged before answering, "Well, we did say you couldn't come unless you brought a date…" She looked to the blonde in the purple dress who sat next to Bickslow at the bar and who had only been sipping on her champagne discreetly and uncomfortably the entire time. "But it looks like you actually did bring a date!" And sure, she was probably jumping to conclusions because the only evidence she had to believe that the blonde was Bickslow's date was that she was wearing purple, was sitting with him, and was uncomfortable right then. But still, Mira was sure she was actually right.

"Of course I did. You don't think I'm actually stupid enough to turn up without one, do you?" he chuckled. You don't go against the brides' wishes – especially not when those brides are Mirajane Strauss and Erza Scarlet. But then Lucy was clearing her throat impatiently beside him, and the stern looks the brides were giving him actually made sense. "Oh! Right, sorry. Uh, Mirajane, Erza, this is Lucy."

 _Finally!_ Lucy had only been beginning to think she'd have to introduce herself. "It's a pleasure to meet you both," she said with a polite smile. "You both look lovely, and the ceremony really was wonderful."

"Thank you, Lucy," Erza replied.

"So how do you two know each other?" Mira asked.

Bickslow rubbed the back of his neck as he tried to think of a suitable answer. Strangely, explaining that Lucy was really just a girl he sold coffee to at two in the morning didn't seem like such a great idea. "Uh, well…"

"You do know each other, right?"

"W-What? Of course we do." Granted, he'd only found out her last name about twenty minutes earlier, but he knew Lucy. Sort of.

"So?" Mira pressed. "How do you know each other?"

"Um…"

"We met each other on the subway about an hour ago," Lucy decided to answer when Bickslow's tongue remained tied. "We were sitting next to each other and I was about to get off at my stop, but then he said he'd give me a twenty bucks if I go to a wedding with him and don't ask too many questions." All three of them just stared at her like she'd grown a third eye all of a sudden, but that really wasn't the reaction she'd expected. "I'm uh, sorry… That was a joke. I think I might've had too much champagne…" she mumbled.

Mira could only breathe a sigh of relief. "I was worried there for a second. You have Bixy's sense of humour though," she laughed. "You must know each other really well, huh? You're like two peas in a pod!" Maybe that was why Bickslow hadn't been interested in dating. Maybe he'd had a Lucy all along! That was totally it.

"Ah, no…" Bickslow mumbled. "Lucy's just, um… She comes into the café a lot."

"So you two aren't…?"

"No, definitely not."

Mira couldn't help but be a little disappointed. The best Bickslow could do was ask someone he served coffee? Really? And even then, Mira knew Bickslow only worked nights at the café, so what kind of person was Lucy if she was ordering coffee in the middle of the night? Who the hell orders coffee in the middle of the night? And that wasn't even taking into account that Lucy had somehow agreed to going with Bickslow to her wedding as it was. She was just one of Bickslow's customers – were they even friends? What kind of person agreed to going to a wedding with the guy who made their coffee?!

But of course, it didn't take Erza long to realise that her wife was slowly spiralling down into some deep and probably frightening pit and was about to start worrying incessantly about just what kind of dates their guests had brought (and just how many murderers had turned up amongst them all). So Erza was just taking Mira's hand and squeezing it gently to bring her out of her daze. "Well, we have other guests to see," she said with a polite smile to the both of them. "But thank you for coming. We appreciate it."

Bickslow only had time to nod before Mira was suddenly coming out of her daze and pulling _Erza_ off while excitedly while saying something about making sure the guests were happy. "Well, that went well…" he mumbled again to himself as he sat back down at the bar.

Lucy sighed and took another sip from her drink. "Why do I get the feeling the one with the red hair – Erza, was it? – doesn't exactly like you that much?" she wondered. It really hadn't been obvious, but Erza had really just seemed a little surprised by Bickslow even being there. More so than Mira had seemed.

"Ah, well, that probably has something to do with the fact I dated her wife a while back." And sure, it had only been for a few months and they'd ended on good terms, but he hadn't exactly been at the top of Erza's list of favourite people since then. He didn't really mind it.

"Oh, well I guess that makes sense…"

"Yeah…" he muttered. "But really, twenty bucks?"

"Hm?"

"When Mira asked how we knew each other and you said that thing about meeting on the subway just before and paying you twenty dollars to come with me," he said.

"Oh… Um…" Lucy shrugged and ducked her head again as one of the bartenders refilled her glass. "It was just a stupid joke. Don't worry—"

"You could've at least said fifty."

She looked back up just to find Bickslow scowling. "Huh?"

"Twenty dollars makes me seem cheap. Actually, it makes _you_ seem cheap," he continued. "I mean, not that you're cheap or anything. But, seriously, you could've at least said something a little higher than twenty bucks."

Lucy couldn't help but roll her eyes. "Next time I'll say fifty then," she laughed.

"Thank you. I appreciate it," Bickslow muttered, and then was picking up his drink again to go back to doing what he'd originally been doing – nothing.

* * *

For the most part, Lucy had enjoyed her night. The ceremony had been beautiful and she'd made a mental note to get the same caterer for her own wedding (well, assuming she actually found herself a boyfriend that didn't get scared off by her two best friends), but after a little while, following Bickslow around had just gotten boring and just sitting at her table by herself had seemed like a better idea. That was when Lucy had started wondering just why she'd agreed to going in the first place. It wasn't like she knew anyone other than Bickslow, so really, what had she expected to happen? Drinking martinis all by herself and feeling slightly sorry for herself was what she should've known would happen.

She'd been tempted to leave a few times over the night just because even the martinis and getting to see the ridiculously cute server who kept bringing them to her had ended up making her even more miserable, but Lucy knew she couldn't leave. Leaving would just be rude, and where would she go to get coffee after her late night shifts if she couldn't go to the café Bickslow worked at?

Lucy really needed her coffee sometimes.

Thankfully though, Lucy wasn't exactly the only one who had noticed that her date for the evening was being just a little rude – because really, he was. Of course, it wasn't Bickslow who actually thought he was being all that rude by letting her go do whatever it was she wanted to do (which was sit and drink apparently), but it was two of his best friends that noticed instead. Even without knowing just what Laxus and Evergreen were wanting to lecture him about when they came up on either side of him at the bar, Bickslow knew it wasn't good. It was never good when they did that.

"Yes…?" he drawled. The sooner they got whatever it is they wanted to lecture him about over with, the better.

"Okay, we get that Blondie over there isn't your girlfriend," Laxus began.

"Who? Lucy?"

"No, the other blonde you showed up with. Moron."

Evergreen rolled her eyes before she chimed in. "The point is," she said, because Laxus was probably incapable of doing it himself without calling Bickslow a moron again. "Just because she's not your girlfriend, it doesn't mean you can be an asshole to her."

"Eh? I'm not being an asshole to her," Bickslow responded as his head shot back up from where he'd been resting his chin in his palm.

"Ya kinda are…" Laxus mumbled.

"Bix, you've been ignoring her for most of the night. She's only here because _you_ invited her, and the only person she even knows in this entire room is too busy having nothing to do with her!" Evergreen hissed. She was almost wishing she'd brought the paper fan she carried with her almost everywhere just so she could hit the man over the head with it. "Honestly, it might be a good thing you're not interested in getting a girlfriend. I feel sorry for any poor soul that finds themselves actually liking you. They'd be sorely disappointed by what it means to actually be in any kind of relationship with you."

"They'd probably end up being even more lonely and bored _with_ you," Laxus added with a smirk.

Bickslow rolled his eyes that time and lifted his head once again with a groan. "Guys, come on. I have feelings you know," he muttered. "And I'm not boring, thank you very much." He was fun! And he was spontaneous, too. He just didn't have much free time, and when he did have some time off from work or school or studying, he mostly slept or just spent the entire day in front of his T.V. and binge eating everything he shouldn't. But he could be fun, and he could be a _great_ boyfriend – he just didn't want to be someone's boyfriend at all.

That was when both of his friends decided to slap the back of his head, but it was Evergreen who was then giving him a look so hard that Bickslow was worried he might've actually started turning to stone. "Will you just go and talk to the woman already?" she hissed again.

"Fine! Okay!" At that point, Bickslow was willing to do anything Evergreen told him to do just so he could go back to being in peace.

Admittedly, weddings just weren't his thing. He was still really glad he'd been able to convince Lucy to go with him so he could go at all, because Mira was still one of his favourite people (even if he was totally convinced he'd been such a horrible boyfriend that he'd actually turned her into a lesbian, which had to be some kind of feat for a three odd-month relationship) and he was really happy for her and Erza. It was just the whole dressing up and socialising with someone for more than five minutes thing that Bickslow didn't like, and that wasn't even taking into account the disgusting amount of romance and cuteness that surrounded everyone who went to a wedding. That just wasn't Bickslow's thing.

But also admittedly, by the time Bickslow was almost in front of Lucy after he'd finished his drink and left the bar, he was beginning to realise that he had really been a bit of an asshole to his date. He really hadn't minded it earlier when he'd been introducing her to a few of his friends and they'd kind of just been walking around in circles together and making up their own versions for what people across the room were saying to each other (which, by their third and fourth drinks of the evening, had turned horribly inappropriate and highly sexual, and it was a good thing no one had overheard them), and then it wasn't like dinner had been _completely_ horrible, even if _neither_ of them knew half of the people who'd been seated at the same table. But regardless, Bickslow was realising that letting Lucy do whatever it was she wanted might not have been the best idea, because it was just a little unfair of him to have brought her to an event with hundreds of people she'd never met in her entire life and then just leave her all on her own.

So when he did reach their table where he knew Lucy had been sitting for at least the last half an hour, all he did was hold his hand out to her and say: "Come on, come dance with me." And even before Lucy actually noticed him and looked up from the toothpick she'd been absentmindedly stirring her drink with just to give him the oddest of odd looks, Bickslow was becoming aware of just how much he'd had to drink over the course of the night.

Apparently it wasn't enough, since he was still standing upright.

"…Excuse me?" Lucy responded. "Did you just… Did you just ask me to dance?" Had she imagined that?

He nodded. "It's a wedding. You're supposed to dance at weddings. I promise I'm not horrible, and I'm not drunk yet either so that's a plus."

It was that time of the night where the band Mira and Erza had hired were strictly playing slow love songs – and ones that weren't half bad, too – and when a few of the guests were already beginning to head home for the night if they weren't already passed out in the corner. It was a bit of a miracle that Lucy wasn't drunk yet, though she knew she was on her way.

But that aside, Lucy was honestly bored out of her mind. And dancing really didn't seem like the worst idea. So nodding, Lucy was throwing back the rest of her vodka martini and standing up from her chair. "Alright. Let's go dance." She was just a little thankful for deciding to take Bickslow's hand when she stood began heading towards the designated dance floor in the middle of the room though. She may not be drunk, but she was most definitely at least a _little_ tipsy. "If I step on your toes a few times, I'm sorry," she said for her own safety more than Bickslow's. If he still wanted to dance with her, then it was going to be his own fault if he got his toes stood on.

Fortunately, Bickslow didn't mind if his toes got stood on. At that point, Lucy was just as likely to get stood on too. "You took the words right out of my mouth," he replied softly and with a wide grin. Finding a space towards the edge of the floor, their arms seemed to be involved in their own awkward dance as they tried to figure out where to put their hands, though after nearly hitting each other a few times they finally settled and Bickslow was hesitantly letting one of his hands rest against her waist as his other laced with her own smaller hand. He wasn't quite sure if they were actually _dancing,_ rather than just kind of swaying and turning like everyone else around them, though Bickslow really didn't care that much. He cleared his throat after a few moments before he quietly said, "I, um… I've been kind of ignoring you tonight, and I'm sorry for that."

"It's okay." Lucy shrugged a little. "It was awkward following you around like a lost soul anyway."

"You're not a lost soul."

She rolled her eyes. "Just a little lost," she insisted. And even when that song ended, and even after Lucy had in fact ended up standing on Bickslow's toes more than a few times, they kept quietly dancing well into the next song. "You know, this is kind of nice," she murmured, and when Bickslow stepped back just to lift his arm and have her spin slowly around by herself, Lucy couldn't help but giggle quietly.

"It really is," Bickslow agreed. But of course, even Bickslow had noticed just how quiet it actually was, and that was just ruining how nice it was. "So… Why don't you tell me a little bit about yourself?" he suggested as another song began. And when Lucy just looked at him sceptically again, he continued, "Because it's occurring to me that I don't really know anything about you, and you've been coming into the café for what, nearly a year now? But, you know, I'm sure there's more to you than just being way too addicted to coffee that is probably more sugar than anything."

Lucy pondered it for a second before jokingly answering, "That's all there is to know about me. I'm just the girl that is addicted to coffee that is more sugar than anything." But really, the guy made really nice coffee. It wasn't entirely her fault.

Bickslow rolled his eyes that time. "Hey, come on. I mean, you don't _have_ to tell me anything, but… You know…"

It wasn't like Lucy had any problems with telling Bickslow about herself, even if she was just a tiny bit surprised by his sudden interest. But they were friends, so where was the harm in telling Bickslow about herself? "What do you want to know?"

"Um, well… How about… Oh, how old are you?" he decided to start with. But before Lucy could answer, Bickslow was quickly continuing, "Oh, no, don't tell me. Let me guess. I'm great at guessing things."

"Guess away then."

So he just stared at her as they kept slowly dancing, and he was having just as much of a difficult time keeping a straight face as Lucy was, but he didn't let that deter him. _She has pretty eyes_. "Well, you're at least twenty-one because you seem to have seriously befriended the bartender and some of the waiters here, and you are most definitely not sober right now…"

"Neither are you, mister," she giggled.

"So… Twenty-two?" Honestly, he couldn't really tell. She could pass as a teenager if she wanted to, but Bickslow knew she wasn't one. Twenty-two seemed like a sort of solid guess.

"Ah, almost. Twenty-four."

"Eh, I was close," he mumbled.

"What about you?"

"Guess."

Lucy hummed as she stared at her annoyingly tall date in front of her. Now she really couldn't keep a straight face, and for the life of her, she couldn't take any of it seriously. "Twenty-eight."

"Damn it. Do I really look like I'm nearly thirty?"

She shrugged as her lips curled up into an almost devilish smirk. "Maybe."

Bickslow only sighed and shook his head. "Maybe it's time to invest in some kind of anti-ageing moisturiser or some crap," he mumbled. "Nice guess."

Lucy couldn't help but interrupt their dancing to do her own little skip of excitement. It was surely the alcohol that had made her so happy about just guessing Bickslow's age correctly. For the most part it had only been a random number, but still, she liked being right. Once she'd calmed down a little and Bickslow was done rolling his eyes at how excited she was over something so tiny (though really, he did find it just a little cute), Lucy just decided it was her turn to ask something because that was only fair about her favourite barista. "So, since we're telling each other about ourselves now… What else do you do?" she asked. "You know, when you're not working or whatnot. Do you have any hobbies or anything?"

"I don't really have a lot of free time to have hobbies, to be honest," Bickslow answered. "I guess I'm kind of boring, actually…"

"Then what to do you do to have so little free time?"

"Well, I work most nights. And then I sleep most mornings…"

"Uh-huh…"

"And then if I'm not working or sleeping, I'm probably at class or studying."

"You go to college?" she asked. Bickslow nodded. For some reason, Lucy just never expected Bickslow to be in college. He just didn't really seem like a college kind of guy, but then again, she really did know close to nothing about him… "What are you studying?"

"Archaeology," Bickslow answered, and the surprised look Lucy was suddenly giving him only had him internally sighing. He was used to it by then. "I graduate at the start of next year though, _finally_. I uh, I would've been done a couple of years ago, but I had some hospital bills to pay off and had to find a new job to actually pay them and all, so I had to start going to school part time instead."

"You know, I can't really picture you as someone who studies archaeology," she murmured.

"Neither could I until I actually started it."

Lucy smiled softly as she nodded. "Well, I think it's interesting. But… You mentioned hospital bills… Anything serious?"

Bickslow only shrugged before answering, "Got into a really bad car accident. Fractured my spine and spent a few months in hospital."

"Oh god. That's serious! Are you even okay?"

"Completely fine," he assured her with a kind smile. He was just a little touched by how worried Lucy suddenly was for him. "But what about you? What is it you do in your free time?"

"Well, I don't actually have that much free time either," Lucy began to answer with a small shrug. "I'm a nurse, so, you know, long shifts."

"A nurse? That's pretty epic." Even without knowing practically anything about Lucy, Bickslow was sure Lucy was an amazing nurse. She just seemed like the perfect caring and compassionate type – and she was most obviously a good person, too, because she was there right then and doing him a massive favour. But oh, did Bickslow really love nurses. "You know, when I was in the hospital, I thought about doing nursing. Because I mean, I _love_ nurses. I might've actually proposed to a few of them when I was still kind of out of it after surgery… But then I realised that me doing nursing was a terrible idea because I'm kind of an asshole to people."

Lucy just ignored the slightly odd looks the couples around them gave her when she burst out into a fit of giggles – and stepped on Bickslow's toes again and stumbled a little, too. "I've thankfully never had to turn down any proposals. But, yeah… Maybe you should stick to digging up bones and artefacts and all that," she snickered.

"Will do."

"But…" Lucy continued slowly. "When I'm not working, I'm at college. Only realised I wanted to do midwifery after I'd already graduated…"

"Oh, well that's not too bad," Bickslow said. "At least you know exactly what you want to do with your life. That's a nice feeling." He would know. He already had a degree that he honestly didn't know what to do with (it was really just something else to add to his resume at that point, because he was most definitely not going to become a _historian_ ). It had taken him to that point to know that it wasn't even that close to what he actually wanted to do, so he'd decided to go and spend another three years studying his ass off. The fact that his extra three years will have turned into nearly six with his time off by the time he'll be done was just an unexpected misfortune. At least with Lucy, she'd already been on the right track, and he was kind of just glad to know that she was doing something she really wanted to do.

"I guess you're right," she murmured.

After a couple more songs and many more questions, they'd ended up returning to their time-consuming game from earlier where they came up with their own versions of the conversations between people around them.

By that point of the night, a few more people had started to leave, and Bickslow was sure Erza had actually eaten so much cake she was in a cake-induced coma. But of course, even with some of the guests having started heading home and with the brides being close to passing out in a corner together somewhere, there were still plenty of people who weren't leaving anytime soon, and Bickslow and Lucy were two of them. Their feet were honestly beginning to hurt, but really, neither of them wanted to stop just yet. They were having too much fun.

Nodding to one couple not too far from them, Bickslow asked, "What about those two over there?"

"You mean the couple that should've gotten a room ten minutes ago?" Bickslow only nodded and smirked at her before she went back to watching them with strange interest. "Well, for starters, I'm pretty sure they're not going to make it home before they're fucking each other," she said with her own smirk set firmly on her lips. She'd long since stopped being just a little embarrassed about their game. Far worse things had already come out of her mouth from it.

"Bet you fifty bucks he's already got a hard-on right now."

Lucy scoffed at him. "Come on, it's obvious he does." Lucy was sure everyone in the room was aware of it – especially the guy's wife who had been pretty much grinding against him for the last five minutes.

"Fine, I'll give you that," Bickslow mumbled. "What's she saying to him though?"

Lucy only bit her lip as she tried to think of an answer, but then the woman was whispering in her husband's ear and Lucy had the perfect response. "When we get back," she began softly and slowly, still watching the couple for the most part with a slightly wicked smirk while she wasn't glancing to Bickslow. "I'm going to send that babysitter home, and then I'm going to tie you up with this tie of yours and ride you until the baby wakes up."

"So domestic. Nice," he chuckled. Bickslow wasn't even surprised at what could come out of his date's mouth anymore. When they'd first started playing earlier, he'd only ended up choking on his drink when Lucy had whispered in his ear (just because they'd had people next to them at the bar and she certainly couldn't have said it out loud because no one would have known they were really just playing a game to kill the time) something that involved some form of body worship and a lot of whipped cream.

Honestly, Bickslow was still almost tempted to just concede his loss because it was obvious Lucy had a far more twisted imagination than he did (and oh, did he love it). But he couldn't end it just yet. Oh no. It was way too fun.

Lucy only shrugged as she let out another small giggle. "The domesticity just worked." She looked around the room for a couple for Bickslow's turn, then her grin was turning completely wicked when she nodded towards the sweet old couple in the middle of the floor that were happily dancing. "Them."

"Oh, they're easy." He cleared his throat before turning his attention back to the blonde in front of him, then ducked down to whisper huskily in her ear, "Honey, I'm taking the blue pill tonight."

"Oh, come on. That's all?"

"What? That not _kinky_ enough for your tastes?" he teased.

"Not even close, baby."

Shaking his head and clucking his tongue, Bickslow only turned them both around so he could look over the blonde's shoulder and stare at the sweet, old, elderly couple some more. If Lucy wanted kinky, then Bickslow could give her kinky. He just had to come up with the perfect response, one that would earn him the crown for his own damn game.

It took Bickslow a little while to come up with something, but once he did, he really couldn't help the way his grin became just that little bit more twisted and wicked – and considering how Bickslow was utterly convinced that the blonde was actually the definition of evil, he was enjoying the thrill that came from knowing that the crown would surely be his.

So once again, Bickslow was only ducking down after coming up with the perfect response, and was then whispering the most depraved and perverted thing that had ever crossed his mind, let alone been associated with an elderly couple.

He took great delight in the way Lucy suddenly stumbled and faltered a little and how her face had almost instantly become a very flattering shade of red. "How about that, Lucy?" he murmured, highly amused by how quickly he'd managed to wipe the smirk of her mouth.

Lucy only nodded as she tried her hardest to avoid actually looking at him again. "U-Um… I think… I think you win this round…" she mumbled. Now all she had to do was find a way to excuse herself to retreat to the nearest bar and then bathroom – though maybe not in that specific order.

* * *

The cab pulled up out the front of Lucy's building and they both climbed out after paying the driver. As it turned out, Bickslow only lived a few blocks away from Lucy, and that was a walk that he had no problems making, even if he was just a little bit drunk.

With the cab pulling away once they were both standing on the sidewalk, Bickslow was only realising that he had yet to actually thank Lucy for even going with him that night. Not once. Not even a tiny, little, single _thank you_. He certainly couldn't let Lucy go inside until he'd thanked her though. Oh no.

"Hey, uh…" Bickslow cleared his throat and shoved his hands in his pockets before continuing, "I never actually thanked you for coming with me tonight."

"Didn't you?" Lucy mumbled, and Bickslow only shook his head. "Oh, well that's okay," she shrugged. She thought Bickslow had already thanked her. Maybe she'd just imagined it. That was okay though. At the very least, Lucy knew Bickslow had thanked her when he'd actually asked her to go with him, and that was enough.

"Not really. But, you know… I'm really, _really_ grateful that you agreed to come with me. Because I mean, it was completely ridiculous that I asked you to be my date to a wedding in the first place, because I just… I make your coffee. And I knew like, almost nothing about you until a couple of hours ago."

"But now you know _everything_ about me," Lucy giggled.

"Uh, yeah," he mumbled. It wasn't _everything_ , but he did know a lot. Or at least _some_ things about her. And that was a whole lot better than nothing. "But I just wanted to say thank you. So, thank you for being stupid enough for going with me tonight."

"Well, you're welcome. And, you know, I'm actually glad I agreed to going tonight, because I had a really good time." Aside from the part where she'd been bored and sitting by herself, she really had enjoyed herself. The highlight of her night had even ended up being the dancing. Her feet were killing her at that point, but she'd learned so much about her favourite barista (and sure, most of it she'll have forgotten by morning, but still) and just had a ridiculous amount of fun doing it. Sore feet were totally worth it in her book.

And the fact that Lucy had actually enjoyed herself made Bickslow all the more glad that he'd asked her to go with him and not someone else – regardless of the fact that he really hadn't had anyone else to ask. Of all the people he could've been an asshole to and then spend over an hour dancing and borderline flirting with, Lucy was really the only one he'd do that with. That in itself was weird, but he didn't care that much about it.

"Hey, that's great," he said softly with a sincere grin on his face. "I'm glad you had a good time. You're not too mad that I was kind of an asshole before and all?"

"Not even a little bit mad."

He nodded. "That's good, that's good… Well, I had a good time too. I, um… I thought tonight was nice." Except all of a sudden, Bickslow was feeling just a little nervous. He didn't get nervous though. He wasn't a nervous person, and he especially wasn't when he'd been drinking.

Lucy was nervous too, thankfully, but she'd had a lot more to drink than Bickslow had, so she wasn't really that aware of it right then. The fact she was more than a little tipsy didn't stop her from blushing though, which Lucy was certain she was doing all of a sudden, and it also didn't stop her from finding it just a tiny bit difficult to look at him directly – her shoes were just a little more interesting right then, just like the parking metre on the opposite side of the street was.

"Well, uh, I don't know if you'd be into it or anything…" she began while still making a point of not looking directly at Bickslow for more than half a second. "But a friend of mine is having an engagement party in about a month…"

"…Okay."

"And I was wondering if… _Maybe_ … You wanted to go."

"Oh…" Bickslow's first thought was that Lucy asking if he wanted to go to the engagement party with her was just a way that he could repay her for going to the wedding with him, but he was almost completely convinced that wasn't it. His second thought, though, was that it was Lucy just doing a really bad job of asking him out. And he didn't exactly want to say no.

 _That's a bad **oh**. _ "But, I mean… If you did want to," Lucy continued, despite slowly becoming acutely aware of how nervous she really was despite how many martinis she'd had over the night. "It's still not for like a month, so it'd make sense to like… talk, and maybe hang out or something a few times before then…"

"Lucy, are you asking me if I want to go out with you?"

She grimaced. "Trying to. Badly, apparently." Honestly, she still wasn't even sure if it was a good idea, but she wanted to do it. The guy was cute for starters, but she also just really wanted to know the coffee-making-soon-to-be-archaeologist some more.

"Horribly."

Lucy only groaned. She wasn't so drunk that she couldn't actually make a fool of herself, which she was sure she had just done. She was finally beginning to realise why they left the guys to do the actual asking out. Better they get humiliated than the girls, right? "Ugh, I'm sorry," she mumbled. What was she even thinking anyway? Even if Bickslow _had_ wanted to maybe go on one or two dates with her, it wasn't like she was anything close to being decent girlfriend material. She had the worst schedule in the world, and when she wasn't doing anything, she really wasn't doing anything. Most of her days off just consisted of her lying in bed and watching T.V. and honestly, Lucy didn't particularly want to give up her lazy days in bed. "I think I have a shift tomorrow afternoon anyway so I should probably just get inside. So, uh… Good—"

"Hey, I never said _no_. I was just saying that you really were doing a pretty bad job of it," Bickslow said with just a slight smirk instead. Relationships or anything close hadn't been his thing for such a long time, but most of his avoidance was just because he hadn't had the time to have a relationship. Or at least that was how it had been for the last couple of years.

But for Lucy, he'd at least try and make time. And it wasn't like Lucy had free time either – that much he remembered from earlier – so at least they were on the same foot there. "But, full disclosure and all," he said, just because he figured he might as well give Lucy a chance to change her mind or something. "I haven't actually dated anyone in like, five years. So, I'm probably going to be ridiculously bad—"

"I don't mind," she giggled.

"Right, well, um…" By then, he couldn't wipe the grin from his face, and he really didn't care. "Wait, are you even going to remember this in the morning? Am I going to need to remind you that you actually asked me out, _and_ asked if I wanted to go to an engagement party with you?"

"Um, probably?" _Maybe I should set myself a reminder…_ "Oh! I know!"

Bickslow only found himself arching an eyebrow at the blonde when she skipped forward just a few steps until she was standing right in front of him, and then any questions he might've been able to ask were totally silenced when Lucy suddenly kissed him. "Uh…"

"You know…" She pulled her lip between her teeth for a second before fiddling with the dark purple tie beneath the light grey vest. "If you _stayed_ , I'd most certainly remember."

"Oh?"

"And if you stayed… You know what you'd be able to do?"

"What would I be able to do?" he asked.

"Make me coffee in the morning."

Bickslow could only sigh before turning Lucy around to face her apartment building and gently push her in that direction to get her moving. "Fine. I'll make you your coffee," he mumbled. He had no problems with making her coffee.


	4. Blue Club (T)

_I have finally, finally, finally finished this one. Some of you may remember this one from a little while ago, but then I deleted it before I ever managed to write the third part. It's done now, though, and... The ending didn't quite go the way I expected. It was fluffier than it was ever going to be, but there's nothing wrong with fluff..._

 _Anyway, as usual, I hope you enjoy this one! I may or may not write a follow-up piece to this in the future. I'm not too sure yet._

 _On another note, I am writing a sequel to 'Sunshine' (in this collection). That will probably be the next one to be added to this, in case anyone was interested. Also, I'm going to stop listing characters for each story unless they're in a somewhat major role and don't just have a few lines of dialogue._

* * *

 _ **Summary:** The story of the First Club War, and all of its casualties. Pettiness ensues. _

_**Rating:** T_

* * *

 **Blue Club**

* * *

 ** _Part 1_**

The Blue Haired Club was a club that had started out as a harmless little group. It was, as expected, a club for people with blue hair, because Fairy Tail had a few of them those days.

Wendy had been crowned the leader at some point, leaving Levy, Bickslow, Juvia, and Jellal as her subjects. Wendy wasn't sure how she'd become the Queen of their little group - all she did know, however, was that Bickslow had pretty much forced her into it.

That's just what happens when you have a doting Seith mage as an older brother, and out of all the Dragons who had also taken claim to being her elder brothers, Bickslow was still the most protective. It was just a little odd, but she'd gotten over it, just because Lucy had told her to, saying that Bickslow's sudden shift from being the crazy older brother to more of a nearly overbearing father figure was purely because that's what he was to become in just a few more months.

But the club had just started out as something fun and mostly harmless, but things never stay that way for long in Fairy Tail. At first, they'd just sit together in the guild and talk about random things. Their respective partners hadn't found it to be a problem, even when the odd club meeting entailed movie nights at someone's home. They could each deal with getting kicked out of their living rooms for a few hours.

It was only when Levy started putting up sound protection runes she'd learned from Freed around them – whether they be in the guild, someone's home, or even in a public place like the park – that everyone else began to worry and become a little more intrigued about just what they talked about. They became more and more secretive as time went on.

It was around the time that that happened that Lucy found herself in her own group (that she was thinking of calling Lucy and the Dragons, just because it had that kind of ring to it), where all of its members were the partners or nosy friends of someone who had blue hair. And, during every meeting, they'd find themselves all watching the Blue Club as it had so been named, trying to figure out just what was going on and what it was they talked about.

So that was what Lucy found herself doing one morning while all of the members of the Blue Club had their little meeting in their little soundproofed bubble.

Laxus sat next to her, curiously and silently watching the group. Cobra was on her other side, and as he always was, he was fuming just because he couldn't even hear their souls when they were within the runes, and also because the Blue Club had let Yukino and Sorano join despite them both being members of Sabertooth at that point. Gajeel was just as annoyed because Juvia wouldn't spill about what it was they talked out. Natsu felt betrayed because Happy (whose blue fur had allowed him entrance into the club) kept what went on in the meetings a secret, too, and not even fish could get him to spill.

And Lucy… Lucy couldn't even get Bickslow to tell her what was going on, and she'd tried bribing him with all kinds of things, including complete naming rights to their babies once they were born.

Erza was really the only sane one. She left Jellal with his secrets (or so she claimed), but no one else could do that. They were just being too sneaky.

It was around the time that Lucy's triplets – yes, triplets, unfortunately – were old enough to be not kept in the protective bubble that was their home that things got out of hand. Two of them had been born with blue hair, and of course, Bickslow being the perfect father he was, suddenly decided that his sons were to become honorary members of the Blue Club. So by that point, the club had grown. No longer was it just Wendy, Levy, Bickslow, Juvia, and Jellal; instead it now also included Yukino and Sorano, Happy, Bora (when he behaved or decided to show up in Magnolia), and two of Bickslow's three sons.

Lucy didn't like that though, even though she found it incredibly hard not to sigh dreamily at the sight of her husband with his arms wrapped around two of their babies. But still, she didn't like it, because now that they'd been welcomed into the Blue Club, it meant Bickslow was keeping her babies from her when they had their meetings. So what did Lucy do in retaliation? She made a point of sitting in Bickslow's line of sight every time they had their little meetings, and she would cuddle and smother the one baby she'd had that hadn't been given the blue hair gene.

But of course, it didn't stay petty for long. Cobra became more and more frustrated at his former and current guild mates' secrecy and was constantly trying to poison Jellal's drinks. Laxus stopped bringing rare and hard to come by books home for Levy. Gajeel just altogether stopped talking to Juvia, and Lucy just… Well, she still tried bribing Bickslow with their blond son for information, but it didn't work.

But all of this only led to what became the First Club War, and that was exactly how her triplets ended up becoming soldiers before they were even three months old. And of course, it was all because of their parents, too.

* * *

 ** _Part 2_**

A loud yawn escaped Bickslow as he finally climbed into his bed that night. He'd known having children was hard work, but three infants at once? Nothing could have prepared him for how chaotic and tiring his life would become once they'd been born. "Alright," he said, climbing in next to his wife who had been given most of the evening off after spending three days with the triplets all by herself. How she was still somewhat sane, Bickslow honestly had no idea. "Evil One, Two, and Three are all finally down for the count."

"Bickslow," Lucy groaned, "Stop calling them that. They have names."

"I know they have names," he smirked, turning off the lamp and snuggling up to the blonde. "Because you gave me complete naming rights and _I_ got to name them."

"Then use their actual names instead of calling them Evil One, Two, and Three. They're not even three months old yet!"

"But they're still evil." That only warranted Lucy flicking him between the eyes, and even in the dark he knew she was scowling at him. "Okay, fine," he mumbled, letting out a heavy sigh. "Austin"—the only blond of the three—"has been bathed, fed, read to, and put to bed."

"Mm-hmm."

"Tristan"—one of the blue-haired babies who had actually been born first—"has been bathed, fed, read to, and put to bed."

"Uh-huh."

"And Jordan"—the official youngest of the triplets by all of eighteen minutes—"has been bathed, fed, read to, and put to bed." All three evil little monsters had been taken care of, and after two goddamn hours – how long it takes them to get all three of the babies calm enough to sleep each night when they weren't doing it together, but half of that time was spent on bath time alone because they were goddamn menaces who hated bath time – they were all fast asleep.

For now, anyway. They didn't like to sleep, apparently, so Bickslow knew he'd be up again in just a few hours when they were hungry or just wanted to cry because they were Satan's spawn (he was a proud daddy Satan, though).

"Good," Lucy smiled. All of her boys were taken care of, and she could finally relax and get a little bit of sleep. Well, almost. "Now, do you want to tell me why Bora came over this morning expecting to be able to babysit Jordan and Tristan for some ungodly reason?"

"Uh… He did?"

She nodded. "Yup. Apparently _you_ said he could at the last 'Blue Club' meeting."

Well, he certainly couldn't remember doing so, because he hated Bora with a passion and he didn't want the guy going anywhere _near_ his precious little devils, but there really was a good chance he'd told him just that at the last meeting.

The last club meeting had actually been in their house just a week earlier, and it had been one of their famed movie nights (the ones where Bickslow had Levy close off the lounge room with runes so Lucy and her little posse only glared at them from the next room). Yukino and Sorano had ended up coming over to Magnolia for it, and Bora had actually been in town anyway so the entire club had been there, so it had been a great time in all. That was until Juvia and Levy started drinking, which led to Jellal drinking, which led to the Aguria sisters drinking, Bora drinking even more (he'd already been a little tipsy when getting there for whatever reason), and eventually, it led to Bickslow drinking.

And, you know, he'd been trying really hard to be a respectable and responsible adult over the last couple of years. He certainly wasn't as young as he had been when he'd gotten married. When they'd first started seriously talking about having kids, Bickslow had taken that as his cue to really grow the hell up. He had to act at least a _little_ bit older than his children.

So drinking that night had been a really, really, _really_ ridiculously bad idea. Lucy had only spent the entire day after laughing at him when he'd been so hungover he'd really spent most of his day on the bathroom floor. A laughing wife and three screaming two-month-olds was not the cure to a hangover, strangely enough.

But there was a chance he'd told Bora he could babysit his two blue-haired sons, because he really could not remember that night in the slightest. The one thing he could remember from the entire thing was Jordan and Tristan pulling on Happy's tail and ears, because Austin had been with Lucy and _her_ little group.

"Well… I really don't remember doing it," he mumbled. "You didn't let him though, right?"

"Gods, no," Lucy quickly answered. "He's lucky I didn't kick his ass all the way back to Hargeon, too. Like I'd willingly let him near my babies."

"Good call." Though Bickslow really would've _paid_ to see his wife kick Bora's ass back to Hargeon. That kind of shit turned him on more than it should.

"Yeah, well, I'm going to assume you all have some stupid meeting tomorrow—"

"In the morning, yes," Bickslow said over the top of Lucy.

"—so if Bora does show up tomorrow for it, you can tell him I'm not sorry for slamming the door on his nose."

He snorted, then began to laugh like he usually did. Bickslow was almost certain the reason he loved Lucy as much as he did was because she did stuff like that. Sweet and innocent on the outside, but mischievous, tenacious, somewhat terrifying, and downright fierce (all in a completely sexy way, according to Bickslow) on the inside. Although, he was _completely_ certain he was absolutely insane for wanting to be with her, especially when their first date had ended with him having a broken nose because Lucy had punched him. He'd deserved it though, to be perfectly honest.

"Nice, Cosplayer," he chuckled. "I'll forgive you for calling the Blue Club stupid, though, just because I have a bit of a crush on you and I really wanna ask you out."

"It is stupid, though," she muttered with a roll of her eyes.

"You're just jealous of us."

"Why on Earthland would I be jealous of the 'Blue Club'?" Lucy scoffed. "I have my own club, thank you very much."

"Barely."

"I do so! I'm thinking of calling us 'Lucy and the Dragons', too, just to make it super official. That sounds _so_ much cooler than your stupid 'Blue Club'. How original."

Bickslow sat up suddenly. No one was allowed to insult his creativity (or his originality, for that matter). Not even Lucy could do that. "What? And 'Lucy and the Dragons' _is_ original?"

She nodded as she sat up too, and pulled one of the pillows to her chest. "Mm-hmm!"

"Well, it sounds stupid as hell."

"You take that back!"

"Not until you apologise for calling the Blue Club stupid."

"Never," Lucy scoffed, and she folded her arms and… Yeah, she pouted. Marrying Bickslow had only brought the child out in her (and, well, quite literally, too. She remembered _that_ day all too well).

"Then your little group of friends is stupid and its name is even stupider," the Seith mage insisted just as immaturely. Was he insulting some of his best friends and his son? Yes. But did he care? Just a little bit, only because his son was involved. He wasn't going to cave, though. He had to stand his ground and defend the Blue Club's honour, be it the last thing he ever do.

Lucy only stared at her husband for a moment, her eyes narrowed and gaze cold, before she quickly laid back down, roughly tugged on the sheets and blanket, and put one of the spare pillows between them, creating a wall. She was mad; she was _really_ mad. And sure, she was probably being a little stupid and she really didn't need to be getting worked up over something as petty as that, but she was, just because her babies were involved, and she didn't really care all that much that she was being immature, because she never lost.

She was completely and irrevocably sure that her club was most definitely not as stupid as Bickslow's. There was just no doubt about it.

"My club is better than yours," she huffed in annoyance as she turned her back to her husband with the pillow still between them.

"Is not," Bickslow muttered, reaching out to turn off the lamp once again. And as mad as he was at Lucy for insulting his club and his friends (hell, _her_ friends, too), he really couldn't just go to sleep like that. He could sleep while being mad at her, sure – they did it all the time, but they had a bit of a routine, and that was why he wouldn't be able to sleep. So he only pulled on the duvet because she was such a blanket hog it wasn't even funny, and mumbled, "Goodnight. I love you."

"I love you, too." But she so totally kind of hated him right then.

Just a little, anyway.

* * *

The Blue Club's weekly meeting was in session by the time Bickslow got to the guild the next morning. He wasn't really that late, and even then, no one really blamed him when he was, because _hello_ , he had three _almost_ three-month-old children – he was allowed to be late (and it didn't help he didn't really have a very good concept of time, either, although most of the time that he was late to things those days, it was because he was fast asleep with either Lucy just as asleep on him somehow, or the triplets were). So when he passed through the runes that Levy had set up around their meeting table in the guild and sat down with them, Jordan and Tristan in his arms like they usually were, no one batted an eye.

That was, until he suddenly said, "Alright, gentlemen and not gentlemen, it's time to prepare for war."

Everyone (except Bora, since Bora had decided not to attend that meeting, and smartly so) just stared at him in shock. Wendy actually looked a little horrified though, but Happy only said, "Aye!" And if Bickslow could have, he would have given the Exceed a high-five. Just, you know, he had his hands full and he was too busy trying to get his children to stop squirming before they fell.

"Uh… Bickslow?" Levy began cautiously. "Why must be prepare for war?"

"Yes, please enlighten us," Jellal added.

"Must he?" Sorano asked as she looked to her former guild master beside her. "I mean, can't we just go to war and be done with it?"

"Juvia would like to know what we are going to war for…" the water woman added quietly.

Bickslow only nodded after passing Jordan to Levy, and Tristan to Wendy – those two were free to hold them. It was just Bora who wasn't allowed near his babies. "Well, you see," he began, "My lovely, darling wife whom I love very much, for some strange reason, has insulted us."

"Doesn't she always?" Yukino laughed nervously, defending her Celestial Spirit sister, just because she gotta.

"Well, yes," the Seith mage insisted. "But she called us stupid and insulted our name, just because it wasn't _original_."

Sorano shrugged. "It kinda isn't, though…"

"No one asked your opinion, Feathers," Bickslow muttered. "But anyway, my darling wife whom I do in fact love every much—"

"Yes, we get it," Jellal interjected. "You're mad at her. No need to repeat yourself, Bickslow. We were all at your wedding. We heard your vows."

"Fine." But he did love her. Just not so much that day. "So anyway, she insulted our honour, basically, which is not acceptable at all, and since she thinks her little club is better than ours—I mean, what kind of name is 'Lucy and the Dragons'? That's horrible—we must go to war."

"I think that's a nice name," Wendy chimed in. She wasn't the least bit bothered that she was technically the only Dragon Slayer that was left out.

Levy nodded. "Well, she does have most of the Dragon Slayers in her group," she laughed quietly.

"Why don't we have any Dragon Slayers besides Wendy?" Happy asked as he continued to let Tristan try and play catch with his tail. "Will the triplets become Dragon Slayers?"

Bickslow just stared at Happy before he grabbed the Exceed's tail and stopped it from hitting his son's face. "What? No. They're not gonna be Dragon Slayers, you dumbass."

"Not even a second generation one?"

"I'm sure Cobra would tell you more about the process if you were interested," Jellal said.

"No. No, no, no. I am not having any Dragons for children," Bickslow said. It was bad enough he was still dealing with Natsu. The guy was married and had his own kid, but not even his wife could stop the guy from spending way too much time at their house and destroying their furniture. "And you're all missing the point. We're going to war, people! We can't let Lucy get away with this, and we most definitely _cannot_ let them win. She'll get too conceited if she does, and frankly, I'm terrified of what that would do to her. Besides," He sat up to run his fingers through his hair a little and said, "Blue haired people are obviously superior."

"Austin doesn't have blue hair," Wendy pointed out.

"…Blondes are just under bluenettes then."

Levy sighed. "Bluenette is not a word, Bickslow."

"Well it should be."

"No, it should not. And besides, do you really want to go to 'war' with your wife?"

"Yes, always." _Duh_.

"And what does Lucy think of this?"

"She started it. Plus…" He pointed to the blonde across the guild hall who was simultaneously comforting their middle triplet and preparing her Dragons for the battle. "Pretty sure they're all fine with it," he mumbled. By the way Laxus, Gajeel, and Cobra specifically were cracking their knuckles and had matching malevolent smirks all aimed at him, Bickslow was sure they were all ready for war. Though, why he was the target, he had no idea. The others just looked like they were ready for some fun.

Apart from Rogue. Rogue just seemed to be trying to calm Sting and Natsu down.

Wendy sighed as she looked back to her own little group she'd found herself leading. She didn't really want to go to war, even though she honestly had no idea what it would entail, but she had a feeling she'd have no choice. "Alright, all of those in favour of going to 'war', raise your hand," she said dejectedly.

Bickslow's hand shot up into the air along with Happy's, and as Sorano, Jellal, and Juvia all raised theirs, the Seith mage only reached for Tristan's tiny arm and held it up for him and Happy did the same with Jordan. They already had it, since the only ones who weren't for war were Yukino and Levy (and Bora, but really, he probably would've been all for war if he was there), but Bickslow liked to think he was conditioning his sons early to be nothing but trouble for their mother.

Like father, like sons.

Levy looked to Juvia opposite her. "Wait, why do you want to go, Juvia?" she asked curiously.

"Lucy is Love Rival and Juvia doesn't mind friendly rivalry."

Bickslow groaned as he rolled his eyes. "Oh, come on," he whined. "You're still going on with the whole Love Rival thing? You're not even in love with Gray anymore, and Lucy has been married to _me_ for like six—wait, no, _seven_ years." _Shit. So glad she can't hear me right now._ "How is she still your Love Rival?!"

Juvia shrugged and gave her somewhat adopted brother a small smile. "Lucy will always be Love Rival to Juvia since she is Juvia's best friend."

"Right, whatever," the Seith mage sighed, then turned to Wendy on his other side. "Anyway. So, Wendy?"

She _really_ didn't want to get involved, but she knew she _really_ didn't have a choice. So sighing, Wendy only quietly said, "I suppose we're going to war now."

"Yes!" Bickslow cheered. Ah, he was so looking forward to what was coming. But that was just going to have to wait, because his children all had doctor's appointments and they'd only gone into the guild to speak to their respective clubs where thankfully, each and every member, even those from other guilds (apart from Bora, but no one cared about him) had been present. "Now if you'll excuse me," he said politely as he picked his sons back up and supported them in each of his arms, "I must be going. You know where to find me and you know what my new operating hours are, so if I don't answer the door, I'm probably asleep."

* * *

 ** _Part 3_**

Once each team had agreed to go to war, they all found themselves realising that they had no idea how to actually decide who was in fact the better club. As much as some people wouldn't have minded having an all-out, physical war (ahem, most of the Dragon Slayers, really), it just wasn't appropriate. And if anything, Lucy, for one, just didn't have the energy to do something like that.

So they eventually came to an agreement on how to go about declaring the better club, and it was that they should take part in some kind of competitions. Whoever did the best got the most points awarded to them, and after a while, the team with the most points would be crowned the better club. There was no violence that way, much to some people's disgust.

Funnily enough, it still took them a while to sort out just what kind of competitions they should hold to see who was the better club. Once the rest of the guild find out about their little _games_ , they'd all been forced to sign contracts saying that they would not damage the guild or the town in any way, shape, or form; breaking a contract only meant being punished by both Mira _and_ Erza, so no one had any intentions of leaving a single _scratch_ on anything.

But eventually, they did come up with ideas for competitions, and it was agreed upon by both Wendy and Lucy that the first competition would just be something simple – a race, specifically, and the Blue Club took the first of the points since Happy had flown, although Laxus had come in at close second.

Most of the other competitions were just as simple or stupid, too. An eating contest had Natsu winning points for Lucy and her dragons; Laxus was left undefeated in an arm wrestle (and Bickslow was left with an incredibly sore hand); Jellal won points for flashiest magic; Sorano surprisingly beat Gajeel in the amount of feathers they had on their clothing, and so on.

When Juvia became pregnant two months after the start of their competitions, they just decided to call it a draw, because no one really knew who to actually give the most points to between herself and Gajeel.

The rest of the competitions, however, were somehow between Lucy and Bickslow's triplets. No one was all that surprised when they both came into the guild one afternoon with their children and Bickslow only proceeded to announce that Jordan and Tristan were the superior ones, simply because they'd started on solids before their blond brother had. First it had been the food, then it was who could sleep through the night, and then it had been which one figured out the fastest that moving their arms and legs in some kind of awkward succession equalled crawling. Once his first son had started crawling though at just nine months, Bickslow had only realised he couldn't wait for when all three were confident crawlers just so he they could have races in the hallway.

But still, even with the triplets somehow ending up being at the heart of the petty club war, Lucy found her own club falling far behind on points. On one hand, she was rather proud just because two of her _enemies_ were in fact her children and she of course found each and every little new thing they did far too exciting. But on the other hand, she was incredibly annoyed that she was losing, and to her husband and two of her children, no less. The fact she was losing to _him_ was really the only reason she kept going with their petty competitions to find out who was better.

It was around the time that Bickslow really did begin playing favourites with their children that Lucy realised it had gone too far, though. And she got it, the guy was proud of Jordan and Tristan for earning points, as well as just being genuinely proud because they were his sons. But as the competition went on, it was obvious to Lucy that their _third_ son was being just a tiny been neglected by his father.

So she did the only thing she could think of at that point to make Bickslow see that he was taking things a bit too far – she made a point of keeping Austin from him. And really, considering how much Bickslow loved just sitting up in bed and cuddling the three of them (or trying to, because they weren't as tiny as they'd once been), he most definitely noticed one of his children being taken away by their mother. And of course, as much as he wanted to be even more petty and try stealing Jordan and Tristan from her, Bickslow knew that he would probably be meeting his end sooner rather than later if that happened. If it was one thing that Lucy had turned into after having the triplets, it was the most frighteningly protective Mama Bear in the entire world.

No one was gonna mess with her babies. Not even him.

So the competitions continued and their stupid war went on, and with Bickslow still doing his best to make it known that his club was so much better than hers, Lucy really couldn't help but begin to hate it. It had been fun at first, sure, but then her family had been involved and things had gone too far, and it had stopped being even remotely entertaining.

By the time her wedding anniversary came around, Lucy wasn't expecting anything nice to happen – she wasn't even expecting Bickslow to _remember_ it, really. So when Levy and Juvia had invited her out to Clover for a well-needed spa day on the day of her eighth anniversary, Lucy was instantly agreeing to it. She told Bickslow where she'd be that morning, and had walked out their front door after kissing each of their sons on the head. Bickslow hadn't made it apparent that he cared much about it – he'd merely shrugged and gone back to feeding the kids their breakfast with the help of the babies.

Come the end of the day though, she couldn't help but be disappointed when she got home to find Bickslow lounging around in their living room with a movie playing on the lacrima-vision, and not even doing so much as looking up at her when she walked into the room.

She wasn't going to start an argument though. Oh no. If Bickslow wasn't going to care, then neither was she. Instead, she only said, "So the babies are asleep, I take it?"

"Probably. I only put Tristan down a little while ago and I haven't checked on them since then," Bickslow answered.

Lucy nodded. "Did you make sure to put ointment on Jordan's arms after his bath?"

"Yup."

"Good…" She knew Bickslow was a good father (surprisingly), so she really wasn't worried about whether or not her children had been taken care of while she'd been out. She'd still go check on them on her way down to the bedroom, of course, but that was really just because Lucy hadn't gone very far from them for more than a day over the last ten and a bit months. She'd always said she'd start taking more jobs – some that would have her gone overnight occasionally, too – once the babies were a year old, but for now, she really wasn't quite ready for that. And as much as she loved her children when they were _all_ quiet, just checking in on them for a few minutes was all Lucy needed to do, because she'd had a long day away from home and all Lucy wanted to do then was sit up in bed for a little while with a book and maybe even a class of wine. "Well, I trust you've already eaten, and I had dinner earlier, so I'm just going to sit up in bed and read for a little while."

Bickslow only shrugged. "Alright then."

And of course, as disappointed and hurt as Lucy was that the moron she'd married couldn't even acknowledge that it was their eighth anniversary, she still wasn't going to say anything; she shouldn't have to in the first place. So just nodding to herself one more time and refraining from saying something she mostly didn't mean, she was turning away from the lounge room and venturing down the hall.

As soon as he heard her leave, Bickslow was quickly getting up from the lounge and peeking around the archway and into the hall. Their hallway was thankfully straight and not that long, so he could clearly see his wife enter one of the rooms before their own at the far end of the hall. He wasn't at all surprised that Lucy was checking in on the triplets before heading to bed, because she did that every night, regardless of whether or not she'd put them all to bed herself. Once he saw Lucy coming out of their sons' room though, Bickslow was leaving his place in the lounge room after switching off the lacrima-vision and all the lights, and tip-toeing down the hall behind her. And as soon as Lucy reached their bedroom door and had pushed it open, Bickslow was only surprising her by wrapping his arms around her waist and softly kissing her cheek from where he stood behind her. "Happy anniversary, baby," he whispered.

Lucy hadn't even had a chance to notice the room by that point, and was stammering as she looked over her shoulder, "W-What do you… Huh?"

Bickslow couldn't help but chuckle quietly by her ear. "You thought I forgot, didn't you?"

"W-Well, I mean…" She'd just assumed that with Bickslow being so caught up in their stupid little war that their anniversary had slipped his mind. And then with how much they'd been arguing lately, Lucy had been in the right mind to think that Bickslow didn't really _want_ to do anything for their anniversary. But she was doubting herself now, and feeling rather stupid when Bickslow only reached forward to gently push the door open the rest of the way to show her what had been awaiting her in their bedroom.

It wasn't anything outrageously fancy, but the fact that Bickslow had _cleaned_ it was enough to have Lucy considering turning around to just kiss him stupid. Their house was rarely clean those days with three infants to look after. But the bed had been made, the clean laundry had been folded and put away, and the overflowing laundry basket next to the wardrobe had been emptied, and that made Lucy a very happen woman.

But it wasn't just the clean bedroom that made her happy – it was the candles around the room that softly flickered, the white and purple calla lilies in the vase on the dresser, and the gift box with the silver ribbon sitting on the end of the bed.

She was still at a bit of a loss for what was going on as she quickly glanced over her shoulder to the grinning Seith mage before freeing herself to step into the room. "All of this… I didn't think…"

"Come on, like I could actually forget our anniversary," Bickslow chuckled again. It had been the best damn day of his life (well, next to the triplets being born). Of course, he couldn't quite remember the details of their wedding, since he'd been absolutely blind drunk by the end of the reception; and he occasionally did forget just how long they'd been married, which was only because it felt like such a long time with Lucy sometimes, but he still couldn't forget their anniversary. Never in a million years.

That being said, Bickslow had been relying on Lucy thinking that he'd forgotten it. His entire plan had revolved around it. And sure, he felt bad for making Lucy so disappointed (but she'd of course been far too stubborn to let it show all that much, but he knew her), but what he'd planned was hopefully going to make up for that. Of course, little did Lucy know, that getting Levy and Juvia to take her to the spa in Clover had been his idea, because it had been such a long time since she'd been able to have a day where she could just treat herself and pamper herself, and Bickslow thought she really deserved it. The whole bedroom surprise was really just because it was their anniversary and he'd wanted to do something _somewhat_ romantic, because their life had been unfortunately lacking romance since the triplets – not that Bickslow was complaining, of course, but he thought it would be nice.

"Now, come on." He gently ushered her into the room and over to the edge of the bed, where he sat down beside her and picked up the gift box behind him.

Lucy was smirking as she looked back to her Seith mage. "You _wanted_ me to think that you'd forgotten, didn't you?" she whispered. If it was one thing she knew about him, it was that he was sneaky when he wanted to be, and he sure as hell liked tricking people – especially her. Making her believe that he'd forget something like that wasn't out of his wheelhouse.

Bickslow only smiled a little guiltily as he crossed his feet under his legs and faced Lucy again. "I did a pretty good job of it though, huh?" he smirked. He was about to hand over the present on his lap before pulling it back abruptly and said, "Actually, how about… How about you change first. You know, into your PJs."

She gave him an odd look but complied, only muttering an "Okay," before retrieving her comfiest mismatched set from the dresser and heading into the adjoining bathroom to get ready for bed. That was what she assumed Bickslow was intending for her to do, and it worked, since that was what she'd been planning on doing before having him surprise her with his plans she'd yet to fully determine.

By the time she was done, Bickslow was already sitting up on his side of the bed and patting the open space next to him as a few of his tikis helped push the blanket and sheet back. He handed her the gift he'd been holding onto before Lucy had a chance to say anything, and was beginning softly, "Look, I know I haven't really been the best husband… well, ever, really. But I know that I most definitely haven't been the greatest lately, what, with the triplets and then with all of that club stuff… And I'm sorry for that."

"Bickslow, I didn't marry you because I thought you'd be a perfect husband," Lucy said with a hint of a smirk. "And it's not like I've been the best wife lately either, you know."

"Baby, you're always going to be the perfect wife to me, no matter what." Literally. He was convinced she could cheat on him and he'd still think she was perfect at practically everything. At her scoff right before she pried the lid from the box, Bickslow continued, "But I love you – _so_ much. You know that. And I'm sorry for not saying it enough."

"Bicks…" She was close to being in tears as she finally got the gift box open and lifted the small, bronze plaque from the centre of it, just to read the engraving with a heartfelt smile.

 _I loved you then_

 _I love you still_

 _Always have_

 _Always will_

She set it back in the box and turned to loop her arms around Bickslow's shoulders, and then softly kissed his lips and then his cheeks, before coming back around to his lips again. "You're an idiot sometimes," she said with another chaste kiss. "But I love that about you. Well, most of the time. Thank you for this, even though you made me really dislike you for a little while when I thought you forgot what day it was."

"You're very welcome," he replied with a slight chuckle. "Now…" Bickslow didn't give his wife much of a chance to do anything else before he was reaching over her just to set the gift box on her night stand, and then shuffling down the bed just to pull her away from the headboard so he could wrap his arms tightly around her waist and pull her in close to him. "Did you enjoy your day?" he asked the giggling blonde.

It took her a few moments to compose herself again, but then Lucy was happily answering, "I did, thank you. The girls took me to a gorgeous little day spa, and oh, it was just so relaxing."

Bickslow smiled. "I'm glad you had a good day."

She had a feeling that Bickslow had also somehow been involved with her trip to the spa with Levy and Juvia, especially since she'd never actually told him that she'd be at a spa until that moment, and it seemed odd to her that he was asking if she'd enjoyed herself. But Lucy didn't really mind that Bickslow had probably planned her entire day without her really knowing it. She thought it was nice, though she was sure she would have thought otherwise had her day not been as great.

Lucy wasn't thinking that much about her day, though. She was much more interested in her night, because as nice as the room smelled from all of the candles and the flowers, she was just a little confused. It seemed a bit too much for just _cuddling_ – because even after almost a year, she still wasn't quite ready for doing much more than that. But as annoying Bickslow got about it occasionally, _he_ wasn't the one that had delivered three babies all by himself. Of course, being that it was their anniversary and that marked more than a year since the last time they _had_ done anything more than cuddling, Lucy reasoned that it seemed like a good time to jump back on that bandwagon… But she still hoped she wouldn't have to.

For the most part, Bickslow didn't mind it, even if it had been a really long time, but Lucy knew it was a little difficult to deal with. On more than one occasion Bickslow had compared them not sleeping together after the triplets to feeling like they'd gone back in time to when they hadn't been married and she'd wanted to wait until they were married.

Lucy knew she wasn't going to find out just what Bickslow had really intended for their night unless she asked. That was another thing she'd always loved about him – that he was always frank when asked a question. He also proved to have had no shame when he'd been younger. But still, asking was always better than assuming, or at least it was _most_ of the time.

She wouldn't be human if she didn't break her own rules occasionally…

"Now, as much as I love the candles and everything else right now," Lucy began softly as she leant back into the pillows behind her head. "I'm not quite sure why they're necessary."

Bickslow shrugged. "I just thought they'd be nice. You know, atmosphere and all that."

"Since when have you cared about atmosphere?" she giggled.

"Since sometime this morning when I was thinking about what to do in here to make it all nice for when you got home." Really, he wasn't a candles and flowers type of guy in the slightest – and Lucy knew that about him. But occasionally, he didn't mind using them, especially if it meant making Lucy happy.

"Well, that brings me to my next question…" Bickslow nodded for her to continue, and then Lucy was carefully asking, "What exactly were you… You know… Wanting to happen? I mean, I know it's our anniversary and it's been a really long time since we last did anything, and I know that you don't like it… But I just… _I_ don't—"

He didn't give her a chance to ramble anymore before he was leaning forward just to quickly press his lips to hers. Bickslow already knew what Lucy was going to say, and it really wasn't something she needed to worry about. "Relax, Cosplayer," he said. "I wasn't thinking with my dick." _For once._ And at the small hint of relief that crossed Lucy's features with a barely audible sigh, Bickslow softly continued, "I just thought something simple and nice like this would be best. Just me and you, just like old times."

Lucy had to admit she really loved that. Just lying in bed together doing nothing was what they'd always done, for as long as Lucy could remember in all the years they'd been together. It had usually been after one had returned from taking a job request, but occasionally they'd do it just for the sake of it. But since the triplets had been in their lives, they hadn't had time to do anything like that. They'd barely had time for themselves, let alone each other.

But a simple and nice night just like they'd had countless times before was perfect for Lucy right then. She couldn't think of anything nicer to be doing on her anniversary that doing absolutely nothing in bed, especially since with their last anniversary, Lucy had only been confined to her bed for the last few months of her pregnancy. She rather liked the choice that year.

"I think I really love that," she whispered. "I didn't even know how much I'd missed this kind of thing until now…"

Bickslow smiled tenderly. "I've missed it, too. I've missed _you…_ Which is something I actually want to talk to you about."

Lucy nodded.

"I think it's time we end this stupid war of ours," Bickslow said after a short pause.

It had been bothering him for far too long. It had been fun at first, but then he'd started getting his children involved and it had really just gone way too far. The last thing Bickslow had ever anticipated was his relationship with Lucy to change all that much, too, but the only reason it had was because he'd let it happen.

He wasn't fond of admitting his faults, but that time, Bickslow would willingly own up to it. Because he really hadn't liked what he'd done, all for the sake of having some _fun_ and proving that he was better than Lucy. Because he wasn't better than her, just like she wasn't supposed to be better than him – they were supposed to be equals, weren't they? But when he did things just to spite his wife, he was most _definitely_ not proving to be better than anyone. And Bickslow had honestly thought he'd long grown out of his _spiting_ phase, but apparently he hadn't. He didn't like that about himself right then.

But he was done with all of it. The games, the competitions, the pettiness. He just wanted things to go back to normal, where he wasn't trying to turn everything into a game and compare his kids to each other, and where Lucy wasn't mad at him for doing so. Bickslow didn't even blame her for resorting to her own petty measures when things had started getting a little out of hand. He'd basically forced her to do that.

Lucy couldn't help but laugh though. She never really expected her husband to be backing down, but she sure enjoyed it. She'd been waiting for all of it to come to its much needed end – but of course, Lucy had long decided that she wouldn't be the one to end it. She was much too stubborn for that. "You don't say?"

Bickslow pouted before continuing seriously, "I mean it though. It's just… God, it's gone way too far, and I really, _really_ hate how things have been between us lately. I don't want to keep fighting with you. I really have missed you, Lucy, and I've missed Austin so much, too. I'm just… I'm really sorry for all of it." Apologising was always hard for Bickslow, surprisingly, but it had needed to be done. "You know I didn't mean to start playing favourites or anything with the babies. You know that. I just… I got carried away…"

She was just smiling softly at that point as her fingertips continued lightly dancing across the sharp edges of his cheek. "I know you're sorry, Bix," Lucy whispered. "And I'm sorry too…" She had kind of started the whole thing, after all. She couldn't just let Bickslow take the blame, when really, it was both their faults that the entire thing had happened, and they were both to blame for letting it drag out for so long.

Of course, Bickslow was more than fine taking the entire responsibility, since he was known to be the immature one in that relationship and he'd been going on for ages about how much better his club supposedly was, but he knew better than to argue with Lucy when she was apologising.

Taking his silence and tightening of arms around her waist as him being done for the time being, Lucy only sighed quietly again before asking, "So what now? You're not going to make me sit through some godawful ceremony at the guild where the Blue Club all get crowns or something ridiculous, are you?" Lucy could admit her defeat, just because Bickslow's club really had won in almost _everything_ over the last seven months, but she really didn't want to have to be forced to sit through something so horrible. She'd much rather be her husband's slave for a day, and the last time she'd done that, she'd severely regretted it.

And the way Bickslow's mouth twisted into the wicked smirk she'd seen far too many times over the last decade with him only had Lucy shuddering in fear.

As much as Bickslow wouldn't mind having Lucy and her dragons sit through a ceremony and make them watch him and his club all gets sparkly, blue crowns, he couldn't do that. Not even if he'd tried to. "The Blue Club didn't win," he grinned.

"What are you talking about? Last I checked, you had a solid seventy point lead."

"Ah, yes, well… You see, there were some last minute points to be awarded…"

Lucy couldn't quite help but grow a little suspicious of the Seith mage as he pulled away from her and began slowly inching his way down the bed. "Bickslow, what are you—"

"Can I?" Bickslow interrupted as he lifted his head and met her eyes. Then when Lucy only nodded silently, still watching him curiously, he was shuffling down a little more and gently rolling up the cotton fabric of Lucy's pyjama top just to expose the softer flesh of her stomach.

If it was one thing Bickslow hadn't been able to understand all that much in the ten months since his sons had been born, it was Lucy's hatred of her own body. She wasn't the way she'd been before getting pregnant, or even when she'd been five years younger, but he seemed to prefer the way she was now – even the stretchmarks she seemed to loathe, Bickslow liked, and it was mostly because he liked the reason they were there in the first place. And Bickslow couldn't remember ever really telling Lucy that, but he figured it was about time he did.

So lowering his head again, just to lightly press his lips to one of the thin, faded pink scars beside her navel, he quietly began, "You know, I don't think I ever told you how much I _admire_ you for having the triplets."

Lucy felt herself blush, but she couldn't quite tell if it was from his words or how he was making a point of kissing every single one of her remaining _battle wounds_. "You, uh… You do?"

"Mm-hmm. I sure as hell wouldn't have been able to do what you did – not even with just _one_ kid – if I'd been you. But you did it all with _three_. You brought three healthy, happy, and _perfect_ little people into the world, and you did it all by yourself." He respected the hell out of her for all of it, too. He'd been there when they'd been born, of course, so he remembered each of the all too colourful insults that had sprouted from Lucy's mouth and the threat of her doing something not at all pleasant should he ever get her pregnant again…

But he also remembered how much he'd hated not really being able to do anything for her when she'd been in pain, and then how in _awe_ of her he'd been after. He'd really been quite impressed with how strong she'd apparently always been, because actually bringing children into the world was something else entirely. Bickslow had stopped complaining about even the smallest of headaches after witnessing his wife give birth. It didn't quite some fair…

Gently kissing the last of the thin scars on her stomach, Bickslow softly continued, "And I love you so, so, _so_ much for what you did. Because you carried them for all that time, and nourished them and made sure they were safe and healthy. And you gave me three beautiful children that I could not be any prouder to call myself a father to, and that's far more than I ever could've asked for." Lucy sniffled and fanned her face before Bickslow was fixing her shirt and laying back down beside her again. "And for that," he added, just as he wound his arms back around her and settled back beneath the blanket and sheet with her. "You deserve all the points in the world."

That was why he was letting Lucy's club take the victory, even if his club really did have the most point. Because as far as Bickslow saw it, Lucy being the mother of his children was really the only thing that mattered, and that was just one competition he would never win.

He was okay with that though.

* * *

The next Blue Club meeting happened to be just a few days after Bickslow's anniversary, and as usual, he was the last to arrive to the meeting in the guild – well, except Bora, but no one really liked him anyway so it was okay.

Except that day, as Bickslow sat down at the table next to a still very pregnant Juvia, he was only greeted by matching odd and questioning looks. He figured it had something to do with the infant he was holding, though – the infant that _didn't_ have his strikingly blue hair.

"Is that… Austin?" Sorano asked as she looked down her nose at him.

"Yes, it is," Bickslow answered. "Do you have a problem with that, _Feathers_?"

Happy snickered into his paws before Sorano could come up with a response. "W-Well… He doesn't have blue hair like his brothers," she pointed out. "How did he even get past the runes?"

The simple answer was that Levy had asked Freed for help with setting up the runes to allow blood relatives through, but that wasn't the answer Bickslow wanted to give.

The night before, when Lucy had only admitted that she rather liked being the leader of her little dragon club, she'd only said she had one condition for Bickslow keeping their other two sons part of his Blue Club. And that was that Austin be allowed in as well, despite his blond hair. It was only fair, after all, because she really hadn't liked that Austin had been excluded. And of course, that was the type of condition that Bickslow had no problems adhering to, especially now that he'd remember what was really important.

He knew Wendy didn't really care whether or not he made Austin a special member, and that she wouldn't care about him naming Lucy and the Dragons as winners of their little war. But as far as everyone else went, Bickslow just didn't care what they thought. His kid was going to be member and that was it.

So looking to each of them as he hugged Austin to him just a little bit more (he was also catching up on Austin cuddle time), Bickslow said, "He got through the runes because he's my son, and as my son, that makes him an honorary member of the Blue Club, too. And if any of you want to complain, I would suggest taking it up with my wife. You know, only if don't mind getting severely hurt in the process."

And so for a little while, both clubs coexisted peacefully. It was only when the triplets were in their teens and causing trouble in the guild just like all the other members' children that the peace disappeared, and thus the Second Club War began.

But that's a story for another time.


	5. The Sexy Teddy (Drabble)

_So, I usually don't post drabbles/ficlets/tumblr requests to here unless I really like them (or they're longer than 1-2k words), but this one... I really did like this one, because the prompt was ridiculous and it did its job of getting me motivated to work on another one of my stories again. I don't usually get request or anything, so this won't be a common thing... Again, I just really liked this and wanted to post it, and since I've got this "collection" already here, I figured I'd just post it in this._

 _Although, as far as the collection goes, I'm not too sure whether I want to keep it... On one hand I do, but on the other hand I don't because I've already got so many BixLu one-shots posted separately and this kind of seems pointless? Please let me know what you think I should do._

 _Anyway, I hope you enjoy this as much as I did writing it._

 _ **Summary** : "Why is the teddy bear wearing your sexy underwear in the bathtub?" (If you're wondering who was crazy enough to give me this prompt, the answer is itsajoshyboy, and I highly recommend going to visit him to read his amazing work.) _

_**Rating** : T_

* * *

 **The Sexy Teddy**

* * *

For once, Bickslow wasn't being woken up to the screaming of his four-month-old daughter just down the hall. Instead, it was to a pounding headache, a painfully dry throat, and a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. To top it off though, as the Seith mage pulled himself into a sitting position (with a struggle, of course), he became all too aware of how _hard_ his bed was, but that probably had something to do with how he wasn't in his bed at all; rather, he was in the bathtub.

It wasn't the first time Bickslow had woken up in a bathtub so he didn't think much of it, and instead just rubbed his hands across his face before attempting to pull himself out of bed – er, the tub.

Unfortunately for the Seith mage, he didn't make it out of the tub before he knelt on something soft and heard a squeak. That was when he looked down to see what his knee was currently resting on, and found the giant, fluffy, _disgustingly_ rainbow teddy bear that Lucy had bought for their daughter's room when she'd been born. And when he picked it up, just to go return it to where it belonged, he was instantly dropping it again, yelping, jumping back in an attempt to get away from what he was seeing, and then tripping over the edge of the tub to get tangled in the shower curtain on the bathroom floor.

He had absolutely zero memory of the previous night, other than having gone out with his team and Laxus to celebrate Evergreen's birthday. But to somehow end up in his bathtub with his daughter's giant teddy bear that was wearing his favourite of his wife's lingerie… Honestly, Bickslow didn't think he _wanted_ to know just how good his night has supposedly been.

Still, he was curious…

So he grabbed the underwear wearing stuffed toy, and ventured out into the rest of their house to find his wife. Lucy was in the living room playing with the baby, but seeing Bickslow walk in, she looked up with a devilish smirk as she said, "Oh, good morning, sunshine. Sleep well?"

"Wonderfully," Bickslow muttered. If he hadn't been sure that Lucy would know exactly what had transpired once he'd gotten home, he was now. She had that terrifyingly evil glint in her eyes… But that much he took responsibility for. He'd been a bad influence on his wife. "So, uh…" Only wincing at the too bright room and shrill sound of his kid's laughter on the play-mat, Bickslow brought up the stuffed animal and cautiously asked, "Why was the teddy bear wearing your sexy underwear in the bathtub? And why was _I_ in the bathtub?"

Lucy snickered. "You mean you don't remember?"

"Not a thing."

"Well," she began, laughing mischievously to herself as she recalled the night's events. "You got home drunk and tried hitting on me, I told you we weren't having sex"–she'd been wearing her flannel pyjamas, and she didn't take them off for nobody–"then you took Abby's teddy bear after waking her up and making her cry, proceeded to raid my underwear drawer until you found your favourites, and then went and sulked in the bathtub to cuddle with the teddy while complaining about how I don't give you enough love and attention anymore."

It had been quite entertaining to walk into the bathroom that morning to find her husband dead to the world and snuggling with their daughter's teddy bear, although right then, the look of sheer horror on the Seith mage's face was possibly the most amusing thing she'd seen that day.

It wasn't the first time Bickslow had felt just a little stupid after hearing how much of a fool he'd made of himself while intoxicated, but the previous night's events… That seemed to take the cake.

After that though, he only made a mental note to replace both his daughter's giant teddy bear, as well as his wife's underwear. Both of them were going to be thrown in the trash as soon as he felt brave enough to face the harsh sun outside.

* * *

 _ **A/Ns:** Quick reminder to please let me know what you think I should do as far as this collection goes, i.e. keeping it or scrapping it and posting them all separately. _  
_Also, there is a poll still up on my profile, and I would appreciate it if you all went and voted on it if you haven't already. Thank you!_


	6. Small Fish (Drabble)

_So, this is another tumblr prompt/request (this one from the darling Empress of Everything) that I liked enough to post here. This obviously isn't my usual style of writing (with the texts and all), but I decided to roll with it anyway._

 _Fun fact: this was actually somewhat inspired by an auto-correct fail that happened to me._

 _On another note though, there is an updated note on my profile about the status of a lot of my stories, so if you read any others, I'd say it's worth reading. Also, regarding this collection as a whole, I need some opinions on two things:_

 _1\. The title. I'm not too fond of the whole 'Match Made in the Stars' thing (even though I named it that...), so if you have any other suggestions, please feel free to share them!_  
 _2\. The contents page. I'm not sure whether or not to keep that. I feel like it's not really doing much, or if it is doing anything, I feel like it'll be more useful on the mobile site since actual chapter titles aren't visible on the mobile version of ... Again, please let me know whether or not you think I should keep the contents page._

 _But anyway. That's it for the A/N's this time around. As always though, I hope you enjoy whatever the hell this is, and please remember to review if you did! (pls i beg)_

* * *

 _ **Summary/Prompt:** ...Damn auto-correct. _

_**Rating:** T_

* * *

 **Small Fish**

* * *

Hearing his phone vibrate on his desk, Bickslow momentarily set his term paper aside to check his notifications. Seeing that it was Lucy who had made his phone light up (amongst other things in his world), he couldn't help but smile to himself a little bit.

 **LUCY: OH MY GOD I JUST MET HER OH MY GOD OH N KYJFGDKM.**

She'd been out meeting her biggest idol, famous author Mavis Vermillion at a book signing in the city. Apart from the fact that Lucy had been posting about it for days online, she'd also been reminding him of it practically every ten minutes, so Bickslow knew full well just how excited his roommate had been.

The little bubble showing that Lucy was typing out another message popped up at the bottom of the screen, so Bickslow only waited for it to appear before he decided to reply.

 **LUCY: SHE SIGNED MY BOOK TOO! AND SHE GAVE ME WRITING TIPS AS WELL AND I'M JUST? I CAN'T.**

Bickslow couldn't help but chuckle as he read her messages. The shelf in their living room dedicated to all of Mavis' first edition novels showed just how much Lucy worshiped the woman. He remembered having to wake up at 3 a.m. just to sit with Lucy in the freezing cold outside a bookstore so she could be one of the first to get her hands on the fifth instalment of Mavis' most read series. Of course, Bickslow couldn't be too annoyed by occasionally having to do that, because of all the things that Lucy could be addicted to, _books_ \- specifically written by her favourite author - were one of the safest things to be addicted to… Well, as long as he managed to drag her away from a book long enough to get her to eat and shower and all that (although Bickslow had caught her reading in the shower once, and how she'd managed to keep the book bone dry was beyond him).

 **BICKSLOW: I take it the three hour drive back to Magnolia was worth it then?**

 **LUCY: Um, yes, definitely. Why would you even ask that.**

 _Probably because it's my car you took and I'm the one that pays for the fuel._ But of course, Bickslow wasn't going to say that. Last time he did, Lucy only corrected him and said that it was _their_ car. He didn't really care much anyway.

 **LUCY: I actually cried when I met her. And I was shaking so bad, oh my god. I had to pinch myself to convince myself it was real.**

Now _that_ , Bickslow believed.

 **BICKSLOW: Nice job, Cosplayer.**

 **LUCY: Shut up.  
LUCY: I just… holy crap. I'm so?**

 **BICKSLOW: You're a giant nerd, that's what.**

 **LUCY: I'm dead. So dead. I was fingerling so hard.**

Bickslow stared at his screen, rereading the message three times to see if he had in fact just read _fingerling_. The first time he'd read it, he'd read ' _fingering_ ', and, well… He'd been pretty damn convinced that was wrong. Or he'd hoped, at least… sort of.

 **BICKSLOW: Fingerling?**

 **LUCY: I MEAN FANGIRLING OKAY. FANGIRLING. Damn auto-correct…**

 **BICKSLOW: …What the fuck is fingerling?**

 **LUCY: I have no idea, okay. It was auto-correct.  
LUCY: Don't you dare look that up. **

He was already looking it up on his laptop, and switching over to the 'Images' tab in his search engine had him almost choking from laughing too much.

 **BICKSLOW: IT'S A SMALL FUCKING POTATO.  
**

 **LUCY: BIX SHUT UP.**

 **BICKSLOW: It's also a small fish. You're a small fish now baby. I'm going to call you Small Fish.**

 **LUCY: I hate you.**

Bickslow just hadn't been able to help himself. He teased Lucy any opportunity he had, and considering it was surprisingly rare for her to make any typos or let auto-correct rear its ugly head, he'd just been incapable of letting that little blunder slide. And, as soon as she got home later that evening, he was sure as hell going to be reminding her of it - like printing out a sheet of paper with 'SMALL FISH SLEEP HERE' with an arrow on it and placing it on her side of the bed. The possibilities were endless, really.

Still, he knew all too well that she really didn't hate him. And he couldn't help but rub that in her face as well.

 **BICKSLOW: Nah. You love me.**

 **LUCY: Shut up.**


	7. Asked and Answered (T)

_This is just another one of those random ideas I get in the middle of the night, and I just had to write it. I'm kind of proud of the fact I managed to get this done in one afternoon/evening, because I haven't been able to sit down and actually write like this for a long time._

 _Anyway, hope you enjoy it. It was kind of fun to write. (And yes, before anyone asks, I am procrastinating like crazy right now. I have no interest in doing any of my writing units' work.)_

* * *

 _ **Summary** : Bickslow needs to work on his word choice when he's asking Lucy to get him something to eat, especially if he wants to avoid her thinking he's actually proposing.  
_ _ **Rating** : K+_

* * *

 **Asked and Answered**

* * *

The loud, rumbling, gurgling noise that came from his stomach had Bickslow frowning. He was so hungry he was almost in pain, but… He was just so warm and comfortable in bed, and as hungry as he was, he wasn't willing to leave the fluffy cloud he was, again, extremely comfortable on. Not even his babies were responding to him silently calling them in his mind. It was bed time for them too, and even they had no intentions of moving from where they were all nestled together at the foot of the bed.

He groaned when the pang of hunger struck again, and attempted to curl himself up into a ball under the covers. _So… hungry…_ Why did food have to be so far away, damn it? _Maybe I should put a mini-fridge where the nightstand is…_

Bickslow didn't get the opportunity to think much more about the mini-fridge idea before a feminine sigh came from the door behind him and in walked his favourite (well, one of them) human being.

"Why, just _why_ did Mira have to give Sage so much damn cordial?" Lucy whined as she came around the bed and climbed in beside the Seith mage. She'd spent the better part of the last _two hours_ trying to tire out her six-year-old daughter enough so that she'd actually sleep. It had taken so long that it was past _Lucy's_ bedtime now as well, and all she wanted was to close her eyes and get some sleep. She'd played so much of _Mouse Trap_ and _Monopoly_ that she was probably going to be dreaming about damn mice in tiny silver cars passing 'go'.

Of course though, if Mira _hadn't_ given Sage a giant class of cordial right before Lucy had gone with Bickslow to pick her up from the guild, then everyone would be asleep right then and Lucy would be happy. The kid had practically been bouncing off the walls all evening.

Bickslow found it a little funny though… Probably because _he_ hadn't been the one trying to coax Sage back to table to eat her vegetables for dinner because he'd been too busy adding the finishing touches to new wooden bodies for his babies after the last ones had been destroyed during a job.

"I don't think Mira would've had much choice," he chuckled. "We both know Sage is good at using those eyes of hers to get what she wants…" And that much, she'd gotten from Lucy. Bickslow was completely certain of that.

"Fair point…" Finally, Lucy's head fell down onto her soft feather pillow and she sighed in delight "God, I love this bed. This bed is like heaven. I think I might fall asleep exactly like this." Her legs were still hanging off the side slightly, but by god, was she comfortable already. Her eyes were already far too heavy to keep open for much longer anyway.

"Mm-hmm…" But then, Bickslow's painfully empty stomach rumbled again, and he winced with how painful it really was. He didn't think he'd ever been so hungry in his entire life.

He had an idea though. A wonderful, marvellous, amazing, _brilliant_ idea. One that would keep him from getting out of bed where he'd been so comfortably sitting and awaiting Lucy for the last two hours (going to bed while Lucy was still awake had become pretty much impossible since they've started living together years earlier). But any who, for his plan to work, Bickslow realised that he needed to move fast. Because once Lucy got comfortable enough that she wasn't willing to move (which usually didn't take very long) or she fell asleep, it wouldn't work.

So, Bickslow quickly got to work. And that just meant scooting closer to his human and throwing his arm over her waist to rub gentle circles on the small of her back. "Hey, so…" he began softly, just in an attempt to get Lucy's attention if he hadn't managed to do so already – honestly, he worried she'd already fallen asleep with how silent she was.

But of course, she hadn't fallen asleep just yet. She'd never been good at getting to sleep quickly… unlike Natsu. Not willing to actually say anything though, Lucy merely hummed in response.

"You know how much I love you, right…" Bickslow said cautiously. "And how much you really, _really_ , love me…"

"Mm…"

"And how I'll like, do anything for you… Well, ninety-eight percent of the time, at least. But for the most part, you want something, or you need something, I'll be there in a heartbeat."

"Uh-huh…"

"And, uh… Did I mention the part where you really, really love me?" he said.

Lucy forced herself to open her eyes, just so she could look at the strangely hopeful look in her Seith mage's eyes. Was she confused? Most definitely. She couldn't for the life of her figure out just what Bickslow was getting at. "You did…" she drawled.

"Okay, right. Well, uh… Lucy. Cosplayer. My favourite human – well, apart from Sage, but you know that. Will you—"

"Yes!"

Bickslow just stared at the blonde in complete shock as he sat up on his elbow. "Huh? But I—" Her saying yes so quickly might've been a good thing had he actually managed to get the rest of the damn question out. She didn't even know what he wanted!

"Yes, of course!" she blurted out again, and by that point, she was well and truly convinced that she knew exactly what Bickslow had been trying to say – or ask, more accurately.

He had to be asking her to marry him. That was all that made sense to her. And, well… After seven years together (Sage had been a _huge_ surprise at the beginning of their relationship, but a happy surprise nonetheless), Lucy was more than ready to be marrying the father of her child. She'd hoped it would've come sooner, to be perfectly honest, but it was better late than never, right?

She was too elated to even question just why he'd waited until after midnight to do so – and in bed no less – after they'd had the entire day together. But, it was Bickslow, after all. He was known for being a little sometimes…

Except, once he saw how happy Lucy was, and once she planted close to a dozen kisses on his lips in close succession, Bickslow came to realise that something had most definitely gotten lost in translation.

"Uh, baby? What exactly do you think I was going to say before you cut me off?" he asked cautiously. Honestly, he was a little scared of the answer.

"That you were going to ask me to marry you!" Lucy answered. Although, the grimace on Bickslow's face then, as well as the suspicion in his voice had Lucy feeling more than a little stupid. She was instantly pulling away from him and shrinking in on herself. "I totally misread that, didn't I?" she mumbled.

"…Just a little," Bickslow admitted. God, he felt so bad! In hindsight, he realised that his word choice had totally been partly to blame for getting his girlfriend's hopes up. Looking guiltily to the girl-shaped lump hiding under the covers just in front of him, he added, "I was actually just going to try and convince you to get me some food…"

Lucy's mood turned so quickly that Bickslow honestly feared for his life for a second when Lucy flicked the blanket back and sat up to stare at him incredulously, pure anger burning in her coffee eyes. She sure as hell wasn't feeling embarrassed anymore… "Excuse me?" she said, an eyebrow rising as the grimacing Seith mage was the one left wanting to hide under the blanket. "You were going to ask me to get you _food_?"

He shrugged. "Yeah… I'm hungry… I didn't eat dinner."

A sound close to a growl tore from her throat, terrifying Bickslow even more, before she rolled onto her other side and collapsed down onto the mattress. "You're a damn jackass," she muttered. She wasn't going to get him food! No way! He was a grown man (sometimes). He could go and get his own food, thank you very much. She wasn't his slave.

Bickslow's stomach rumbled again, but he ignored it as he slid down into the bed and crossed his arms over his chest. I guess I'll just have to go without then. Because really, he still wasn't going to get up to get food himself. The kitchen was all the way downstairs, and the bed was still way too warm and comfy for him to even consider leaving it.

Still… Lucy sulking was making him feel terrible. And he didn't like feeling terrible, especially when it was because he'd upset Lucy. Honestly, her jumping the gun and thinking he was proposing wasn't even on the list of things Bickslow had expected to happen. But, it had happened. And now she was probably lying there thinking that the reason he hadn't proposed already was because he didn't want to marry her at all.

And, well… That was pretty far from the truth.

But, maybe Bickslow was just going to have to swallow his damn pride in order to make Lucy happy again. It wasn't the first time he'd done it, and he doubted it would be the last, as well. So, before he could talk himself out of it, he pulled open the second drawer of his nightstand, picked out the small box that he'd hidden in the back corner of it, and then tossed it over to where Lucy was sulking and pretending to be sleeping.

When something hit her, she wasn't too pleased, naturally. "Oi, what was that?" She fumbled around in the dim room to find whatever it was that had hit her until her fingers brushed over a velvet box resting by her hip.

"Just open it," Bickslow grumbled.

Lucy sat herself up and turned on the lamp beside her just so she could see a little better. Once she realised she was holding a ring box, however, and once she opened it to reveal the square-cut amethyst on the thin gold band… "Are you kidding me right now?"

Bickslow shrugged. "I was going to ask you eventually," he said. "I was just waiting for the right moment."

She could only gawk at the obvious engagement ring and Bickslow beside her. Of all the times and ways for him to actually propose… He chooses to do it then… And after she's already made a fool of herself for assuming he was asking it earlier. Honestly, it was times like that that Lucy wondered just why she'd put up with him for the last seven years – and their daughter wasn't even being factored in right then.

But, the simple answer was because she was ridiculously in love with the guy (it annoyed her sometimes), and if she didn't want to be with him, she would've already left by then.

"So are you going to say yes or are you just going to sit there and make me worry?"

Of course, Lucy still stood by her earlier statement (and she probably always would). So, quickly taking the ring out of its box and slipping it onto her finger herself – it was a little loose but it'll do – she slid down into bed again, grabbed the spare pillow behind her, and then thumped her now fiancé's face with it.

"You're still a jackass," she mumbled.

And Bickslow took it as a yes, of course.


	8. Love Thy Family (T)

_Well, when I said that I wanted to focus on one-shots as well, I really did mean it. I know no one really wants to see them, but I have so many of them in my WIP folder and I just really need to get a lot of them finished. And, my "writing groove" is slowly returning (totally going to jinx myself), so I was able to get most of this written and finished yesterday/this afternoon, and I'm super proud of that fact._

 _Anyway, this is just another weird one-shot that was inspired by something I saw on tumblr... And that 'something' was the opening joke in this story. So, I hope you enjoy it. Please remember to review if you did and let me know what you thought._

* * *

 _ **Summary:** Even after a decade of marriage, Bickslow's parents-in-law are still trying to set Lucy up with someone else. _

_**Rating:** T_

* * *

 **Love Thy Family**

* * *

"What's the difference between outlaws and in-laws?"

As soon as the words left her dashingly tall, handsome, and _strangely_ blue-haired husband's mouth, Lucy could only roll her eyes and let out the most tired of sighs. She already knew that whatever the answer to Bickslow's little joke was, it was not going to be polite at all. But she was going to indulge the man and let him tell her what the answer was anyway.

"I don't know, Bicks," she sighed. "Why don't you tell me?"

"Outlaws are _wanted_ ," the man grumbled, and threw back the duvet with a huff to climb into bed for the night.

Switching the bathroom light off after brushing her teeth, Lucy returned to their bedroom just as her husband was pulling the blanket back up to his chest and placing his glasses on the nightstand for easy reach in the morning. " _Ha-ha_ , very funny," she said. "How long have you been working on that one?"

"Oh, not long."

"Liar."

Bickslow grinned as he held up the duvet slightly so Lucy could slide into bed beside him. Okay, so he might've been lying about how long he'd been working on the joke… But not by much. If anything, he'd just been bending the truth, since time was relative, after all… Some might see 'not long' as a few days, others, as just a few hours. Still, his wife had called him out on it and he knew not to get into an argument about relativity with her.

He'd lost that fight once before. It was how he'd come to live with the fact that 'a few' tended to mean anything from three to ten in their house. If Lucy had had three peanut butter Oreos for breakfast, then she'd most likely had ten. Bickslow didn't question it anymore.

"Okay, basically all night," he admitted. Lucy raised a perfectly plucked eyebrow at him, and after fluffing up his pillows behind his head, Bickslow said, "Noah asked what an outlaw was when your mum was showing off Jude's secret western collection, and, y'know, told him that an outlaw was a wanted criminal…"

"…And then you made the connection to _in_ -laws…" Lucy surmised. "I see…"

"Yup."

Honestly, Lucy had to admit it was at least a _little_ funny, but then again, she knew all too well just how much Bickslow hated her parents – mostly because they'd _loathed_ _him_ since the first day she'd introduced him, the guy next door who had accidentally thrown a baseball through one of their back windows not long after they'd moved in, as her boyfriend nearly sixteen years earlier. Of course, she figured that Bickslow would have _loved_ to tell that little joke to her parents as well, but thankfully, despite how much they hated each other, the guy did always try to be on his best behaviour around them.

"Speaking of Noah though…" Lucy trailed off after quickly making sure her alarm was set on her phone for the morning and that she'd checked the last of her missed notifications. "Did you remember to turn his night-light on when you tucked him in?"

Bickslow winced. "Ah, no… I'll go turn it on now," he said, and then kicked the duvet back to roll himself out of bed and enter the hall.

Noah, their only child at the _wonderful_ age of six (and eleven months, as he kept reminding everyone), had a horrible fear of the dark. Well, sort of. He'd had no problems sleeping without any lights on up until he turned six, but out of nowhere, Noah hadn't been able to get to sleep at night unless the light was on, or he had his parents on either side of him. Noah preferred the latter option, of course. And after a while, when Bickslow was sitting up in bed late at night reading with Lucy fast asleep beside him, and he heard the quiet footsteps of his son coming down the hall before he emerged tired-eyed and clutching his favourite stuffed fox, all Bickslow did was move over a little and pat the space next to him. It had just become far easier and way less troublesome to just let the kid sleep in the bed with them than to try and coax him into sleeping in his own bed. No one liked arguing with a pre-schooler in the middle of the night. Not even Lucy could stand doing that.

But with the new night-light they'd eventually bought him, it was mostly a rare occurrence for Noah to get up and wander into their room. And, well… As much as Bickslow had enjoyed his morning cuddle (a.k.a. tickle) time with his wife and son before getting ready for work and school, he also sure as hell enjoyed not having to worry about rolling over and crushing a twenty-five-kilogram boy in the middle of the night. Crushing Lucy was no issue – especially since _she_ was usually the one doing the crushing – but Noah? Oh no.

Walking into his son's room, Bickslow first stepped quietly over to where the night-light was plugged into the wall. He'd gotten into the habit of stepping in to check on a sleeping Noah as soon as the boy had been born, so it was a natural next step for Bickslow to then look up and over to where his son's bed was up against one wall.

Except he didn't see the gentle face of his son resting on the pillow like he usually was, lost deep in the dreamland where he got to be a pirate or an astronaut or even a prince. Instead, Bickslow saw an odd boy-sized lump under the patterned quilt in the middle of the small bed. And Noah wasn't one to sleep entirely under the covers – not as far as Bickslow or Lucy were aware – so Bickslow couldn't help but be a little worried. Especially when he was sure he heard a small whimper coming from that same boy-sized lump when he carefully treaded closer.

"Noah? Buddy?" Bickslow said softly, crouching down at the side of the bed and gently laying a hand on the edge of the mattress. The lump shifted again, whimpered, and then a small hand was emerging from the small gap when the blanket was lifted up slightly.

"D-Daddy?" Noah sniffled.

Bickslow watched as his son's head peeked out from under the blanket. "Hey, what's wrong? What are you doing all the way down here?" he asked. "Are you cold?"

Noah shook his head. "No…"

"No? Are you going to tell me what's wrong then?"

The blue night-light provided just enough light for Bickslow to see Noah consider it. He was a thinker, just like his mother, and Bickslow had to admit he'd always loved seeing the cogs turn in Lucy's head whenever she was thinking about something. She showed it in her eyes, and Noah was very much the same. So when Bickslow saw that same dull twinkle that meant there were a million different things buzzing around in that growing brain of his, and his mouth twist slightly, Bickslow knew to just wait for Noah to decide whether or not to talk, rather than push him just that little bit more. He usually had no trouble at all telling himself or Lucy anything – literally anything – but he occasionally kept his secrets… Except most of the time that involved him running off to his room giggling and they knew not to worry anyway.

But, there was no giggling, and there was quite obviously something bothering him, so Bickslow just _had_ to worry. That was his job.

It was with a howling gale that Noah suddenly hid himself completely under the blanket again. And quietly, he admitted, "I'm scared…"

For a second, Bickslow didn't know what Noah could be scared of. But then the wind picked up again and he heard the small yelp from his son as a tree branch just barely scraped against the edge of the window, and Bickslow figured it out. It was the storm – well, he had a feeling it was the storm, at least.

Sighing, Bickslow gently lifted the blanket up to smile softly at his son. "Aw, Noah, buddy… It's just a little storm." Well, it was a particularly bad storm, and a portion of their back fence had blown down a few days early, but for the sake of making his son feel better, it was a _little_ storm. "That's nothing to be scared about. The storm's outside, and you're in here, all nice and warm."

"But… But it's still scary…" Noah whispered. He really didn't like storms – especially when there was lightning. The big, old tree that was just outside his window always made the floor look creepy, with it's long, twisted branches casting shadows across the floor.

They hadn't been in that house for long – a few months at most – so there were still plenty of things to be done. One of the tasks they'd been meaning to get around to doing was getting some curtains in Noah's room. Another was getting the damn tree in the yard removed, because one more storm like that, and they'll probably be paying to repair the roof of their garage after it falls down on top of it. It was half dead as it was.

For the time being though, Bickslow wasn't sure what he was supposed to do. The kid didn't like storms or the dark – there was nothing wrong with that. But as far Bickslow could tell, it was the first time Noah hadn't come to him or Lucy when he was scared. It was just a little strange. "I know it's scary," he said. "But if you were scared, why didn't you come see me and Mum?"

"Because… Because Mummy said I have to sleep in my bed… I wanted to be a big boy…"

That much made sense, because he remembered Lucy telling Noah that before. But there was no harm in making an exception, especially when it was a reward for extreme bravery in the face of a big bad storm. Pushing himself up from where he knelt beside the bed then, Bickslow lifted the blanket off of Noah. "Alright, come on." He held his arms out just to heave the boy up (he was so much easier to pick up when he'd been four), and then turned to carry Noah out of the hall and back towards the master bedroom. "You've been brave enough for one night, my little man."

And once Noah was safely wrapped up in Lucy's arms just a few moments later, he was falling fast asleep within minutes.

* * *

"Every fucking year," Bickslow cursed under his breath as he took the crisp daisy yellow shirt from the hanger. "Can't we just stay at home for your birthday and just order pizza or something _once_?"

Lucy smiled as she stuck her head around the bathroom door from where she'd been getting ready for the evening. "Can't we just have dinner with my parents on my birthday without you complaining about it just _once_?"

"…No," he grumbled. But his wife did have a point. He'd been complaining about having to have dinner with her parents on her birthday for the last sixteen years. He hadn't wanted to be going there the first year, just a few months after they'd finally started dating when he'd been nineteen and Lucy had been just about eighteen. And he certainly hadn't wanted to be doing it for any year after that, either. It was bad enough that her father had insisted on them changing their damn honeymoon dates just so she could have her annual birthday dinner with them the year they'd gotten married. Bickslow was still salty as hell about that, because it had meant cutting their trip literally in fucking half. And they hadn't even been able to get a refund for it!

"It won't be that bad, I promise," Lucy assured her husband as she ducked back into the bathroom to return to the mirror and finish applying her makeup.

"You say that every year, Lucy."

"Yeah, well… It's not like they're all complete disasters," she said. Although admittedly, her birthday dinners did have a track record for being the most disastrous. Not even the fortnightly Friday night dinners were as bad as some of her birthdays had been… and that was saying something.

"Yeah?" Bickslow appeared at the bathroom door and leant on the frame, crossing his arms across his chest after having rolled up the sleeves of his shirt to his elbows. "Remember the year you told them you were pregnant with Noah?"

"…Um…"

"And the year you said you were going to drop out of college so you could pursue writing and get published?"

"…Yes…"

"Oh! And my personal favourite: when you got absolutely fucking smashed on your thirtieth with your mum, and you blurted out that you got an abortion four months after we'd started dating!" Honestly, that had been a fucking _terrifying_ night – at least for Bickslow. Layla had been too drunk to do anything other than hug her daughter, but Jude? Jude had been just as sober as Bickslow had been and had absolutely wanted to _murder_ the man for getting his then seventeen-year-old daughter pregnant.

Thankfully though, Acalypha's laws had been on their side at the time. Otherwise Lucy would've had to wait until she'd been eighteen to get the pregnancy terminated, and by that point, it would've been a little more difficult anyway. Even better for Bickslow (as far as Lucy blurting it out, at least) was that Noah had only been two at the time, and he'd also been asleep in Lucy's old bedroom, so Bickslow hadn't had to come up with an explanation for what a damn abortion was. That would've been catastrophic.

Lucy replaced the cap on her lipstick and pulled the claw-grip from her hair, letting it fall in gentle waves down past her shoulders. "Okay, Bicks, just don't," she said, pushing her way past him to head into the walk-in. She didn't need to be reminded of something stupid she'd let happen when she'd been a teenager, and Bickslow knew that. They didn't talk it for a reason. "You made your point."

And admittedly, Bickslow was feeling a little guilty for bringing it up again. "Sorry," he mumbled. "But really, all I want is to be able to sit at home and eat take-out for once, and not have to go over to their place just to listen to them make it _oh so_ obvious how much they'd prefer you to have married someone else. Or even just be able to take you out somewhere myself on your birthday! Do you have any idea how much I want to do that?"

She smiled softly at him once she'd zipped up her skirt on the side and loosely tucked her simple sleeveless blouse in. "We do the take-out and pyjamas thing on _your_ birthday, though," Lucy pointed out. "And it's not like you don't take me out to nice places at all. Just last week you took me to the OB!"

"Oh, and that was _so_ romantic."

"I thought it was." There's nothing quite like being able to hear her child's heartbeat for the first time. And she'd been just as excited about it with that baby as she had been with Noah. After quickly slipping her feet into her ballet flats and grabbing one of Bickslow's belts from a drawer, Lucy stood up on her toes just to kiss her partner's cheek and gently pat the other. "Now hurry up and quit your whining and finish getting dressed."

* * *

"Oh, Lucy, I forgot to tell you!"

Bickslow tried not to roll his eyes as his father-in-law set his fork down to take a sip of his wine and tell Lucy all about something that'd most definitely _not_ forgotten to tell her. Bickslow always knew when Jude was about to tell her about someone who would make a far better husband than he, and he knew that it was coming again right then.

Jude just couldn't help himself.

And Lucy knew what was coming as well, so she only sighed and smiled politely as her father opposite her. "Yes, Dad?"

"Do you remember Ren? The Akatsuki boy?" Jude said.

At the vague look Lucy gave, Lucy's mother chimed in, "You went to summer camp with him when you were little."

"Ah, yes… I'm going to remember a boy from all of those horrible summer camps you forced me to go to until I turned twelve and got my period. Yes, I _totally_ remember," Lucy mumbled. She'd really hated those camps. The kids had all been spoilt brats (which was why her parents had set it to her in the first place, since she'd been one of those spoilt brats with loaded parents) and the counsellors had been just as bad – only older. She didn't remember Ren at all though, even if she did vaguely remember the Akatsukis having always been close family friends of her parents.

"Mummy, what's a period?" Noah asked innocently then. He'd finally turned seven just a few months prior, but he was still as curious about everything as ever.

Jude just about choked on his roast lamb, Layla only whispered _'oh dear'_ to herself, Lucy looked just about mortified (she did _not_ want to be having to explain menstruation to her son while having dinner with her parents), and Bickslow couldn't help but chuckle as he reached over to ruffle his son's hair. "It's hell, kid. Total hell," he answered. "You'll learn all about it when you're older. Now eat your vegetables."

" _Anyway_ …" Jude cleared his throat to make a point of changing the topic and getting away from the awkwardness that had just transpired. "Ren just moved back here a few months ago. He was in Pergrande Kingdom, did you know?"

"No, I didn't know," Lucy answered drily.

Jude picked up a forkful of the sliced roast lamb and placed it into his mouth, swallowing before continuing, "His father tells me that he moved there after meeting some woman on a cruise. But now they're divorced."

"Good for him then…"

"Oh, don't be like that, Lucy," Layla piped in. "You and Ren used to be close."

"Yeah, when I was ten, maybe," she scoffed. She'd also still played with dolls and thought getting chicken pox meant she'd turn into an actual chicken when she'd been ten. Times had certainly changed since then. "That was a long time ago, Mum. I haven't seen Ren in what, twenty years now? You don't honestly expect me to care about someone I barely even knew as a _child_ , do you?"

Layla didn't quite know why her daughter was being so rude, but she wasn't about to tell her to stop it when Noah was sitting at the same table. She didn't believe in yelling around little ears, so scolding Lucy could wait until later. "Well, anyway," Layla huffed, sipping on her glass of red wine. "He's turned into a wonderful young man." Although, he was now in his mid-thirties, she supposed, since he'd only been born two years before Lucy had. But compared to herself and Jude, Ren was still very much a young man. "He's successful, he's bought a house here in Acalypha… He even likes kids!"

"Oh, here we go…" Bickslow muttered. He'd been silently waiting for them to actually get to the 'selling' part of the conversation. He picked up his glass just to gulp down the rest of the alcohol (not like he was the one driving home anyway), and then quickly excused himself to go fetch another bottle from his in-laws' wine rack. There was no way in hell Bickslow would be making it through the night without alcohol, so it certainly wouldn't be the first year he actually managed to do so, either. _Here's hoping for next year…_

"He's rather smart as well," Jude added, failing to notice his daughter's menacing glare as she slowly chewed on the piece of roast carrot in her mouth. "The boy is planning on opening his own clinic in the office building next to the hospital. Oh yes, he's a psychologist as well, did I mention that? He finished his professional doctorate just a few years ago, I believe."

Now, Bickslow typically didn't say anything when his father-in-law tried to upsell men to his wife, mostly because he'd never really wanted to give Jude the satisfaction of _knowing_ how much it actually pissed him the fuck off that the guy was basically telling Lucy to find someone better than him – and on more than one occasion Jude had actually sat there and straight up told his daughter that Bickslow was no where near good enough for her.

But right then, Bickslow couldn't just sit there in silence. Not when Jude was hitting just a little too close to home. He couldn't help but let the dining chair scrape along the tiles on the edge of the rug slightly as he sat back down. "Uh, you do remember that I'm a psychologist as well, right?" he sassed. Although really, how the _fuck_ could they forget what he did for a living when the clinic he worked at was in the same goddamn building as Jude's law firm?

"What? No you're not," Layla laughed. "You're a… Oh, what is it, honey? A… A sportsman of some sort!"

Jude grunted in agreement, swallowing the mouthful of food. "Basketball, wasn't it?"

"Baseball," Bickslow and Lucy answered in unison. The last time Bickslow had played was back when he'd been on the college team though, since he'd been on the baseball scholarship anyway. He'd never actually made it past college baseball though – he'd had plenty of scouts offer him positions in major league teams for after he graduated, when he'd been at the peak of his performance – because he'd fucked his shoulder up, torn the rotator cuff of his pitching arm, and he couldn't very well be the ace of the team after that kind of injury. He'd pretty much had no choice but to retire from the sport, before he'd even had a chance to get to where he'd dreamed of being one day. No one had been more disappointed than him to have to leave it all behind, and that had been one hell of a decision to make.

He'd just ended up choosing his health over his career, because he hadn't been able to risk tearing it again. And even then, after months and months of physio, his pitch still hadn't been the same, and he'd always known that it would never be as good as it used to be.

He'd been minoring in psychology at the time though, so it had really just been the logical decision to switch his unit sets around and complete the major instead after he'd quit baseball. The only downside was that he'd spent a whole lot longer at college than he'd originally anticipated…

"And I haven't played baseball since I was twenty-one, thank you very much," Bickslow seethed. "You visited me in the damn hospital when I had surgery on my shoulder, by the way."

"Oh… Oh, that's right!" Layla laughed again, turning and laying her hand on her husband's arm beside her. "We did so!"

Jude still wasn't impressed though, so he merely turned his attention back to his daughter and proceeded to ignore his blue-haired son-in-law that was drinking all of their wine. "Well, in any case, Ren has still become a wonderful young man," he continued on. "He expressed a desire to see you again, too, you know…"

Lucy rolled her eyes. "Dad, come on…"

"Your mother even invited him to dinner tonight, but he unfortunately couldn't make it."

" _Good_!"

"So he's coming next Friday instead," Layla said happily.

"Well, we sure as hell won't be!" Lucy argued. Of course, it was their fortnightly dinner that just happened to be on that same Friday, but if her parents had invited Ren, then Lucy was, for once, going to make her husband incredibly happy and just sit at home in their pyjamas, get take-out, and watch movies with Noah in bed.

Lucy could, for the most part, deal with them making it painfully obvious they didn't approve of Bickslow, just because she knew that it would never go beyond them just dropping hints (albeit _not-so-vague_ hints) about more suitable people they'd like to see her with. But she had no idea what her parents had told Ren about her or her family, and she had absolutely no intentions of finding out. She didn't want to sit through an uncomfortable as all hell dinner (well, more so for Bickslow, at least) where Bickslow would just be treated like he didn't exist, and where her parents would probably just sit there and allow someone she hadn't seen since she was a damn _child_ to hit on her.

She was perfectly fine with her life the way it was, and as much as she loved her parents, it was damn well time they stopped thinking that they could control her. She was a grown woman, thank you very much.

"Oh, yes you will!" Layla said back, raising her voice slightly. "Don't be petulant. You've been like that all night, and frankly, I don't quite know what's gotten into you."

"No, Mum. We won't. And nothing has gotten into me, thank you."

"Don't you talk back to your mother like that, Lucy," Jude warned.

"I'm barely—" Lucy let out a tired sigh as she rolled her eyes. "Just forget it. I don't want to get into an argument about this right now." It was barely past seven o'clock and all she wanted was to go to bed for the night. And the last time she'd been that tired was when she'd been pregnant with Noah, so she wasn't that surprised she was exhausted that time, too, even if she was only a little past nine weeks. And she meant it when she said she didn't want to get into an argument with her parents right then, because she knew things would just get worse.

Noah would no doubt be wanting to go to bed soon anyway, so maybe it would just be a good idea to leave a little earlier than usual. She didn't think anyone would be opposed to that idea, least of all Bickslow.

Smiling at her son softly as she stood up from her chair, Lucy crouched down a little just to say, "Noah, buddy, you want to head home now? We can get some ice-cream on the way home, too, if you want."

Noah nodded quickly as he grinned brightly, hopping down from his chair as fast as he could. "Yes please!"

"Oh, Lucy, come on," Jude groaned. "You're not actually leaving are you, just because Ren is coming to dinner next week?"

"Um, yeah, pretty much," she nodded. "That, and I'm honestly getting really tired of you treating my husband like he's worthless."

"Well, honey, he's… He's…" Jude found himself at a loss for words as he watched the man in question try to stealthily slide out of his chair and back out of the room. _He's a damn **moron**? _

"He's my _husband_ ," Lucy said. "And he's the father of your grandchildren – yes, _grandchildren_ , because I'm pregnant again – and he deserves a little more respect from you both. I mean, Jesus Christ, guys. I've been married to the guy for eleven years and you still think it's okay to sit there and make it obvious that you don't think he's good enough for me."

Layla got up from the table so fast to run over to her daughter that even Noah had to step out of the way before his grandmother could trip over him. "You're having another baby?" she sniffed. "That's wonderful, sweetheart! I'm so happy for you!"

"Yes, yes, thank you…" Lucy sighed, patting her mother on the shoulder as the woman proceeded to cry and hug her and blabber on about how good it was that they were having another child.

Jude, on the other hand, didn't really seem to care about that fact, but he'd also never been that happy about Noah, either, so Lucy hadn't expected much from him. Hell, she hadn't even planned on telling them she was pregnant again, not for a few more weeks at least.

"Lucy, we're just trying to look out for you," he said. "We're your parents, and we want what's best for you. That's all. And Bickslow…"

" _Bickslow_ is what is best for me, Dad," Lucy said. "Now if you'll excuse me… Mum, come on, let me go…" She pried herself from her teary mother to grab her coat and purse from Bickslow who'd already retrieved them from the coat rack. "I would very much like to go home now. So good night."

Layla was the only one who bothered saying good night back after walking them all to the door where she got to give her grandson a hug goodnight – and she really did love her grandson's little hugs. Jude just continued to sulk in the dining room, although no one really expected anything less anyway so it was fine.

Once the three of them had all climbed into the car though, and Lucy was just pulling out of her parents' driveway and onto the quiet suburban street, she couldn't help but notice Bickslow grinning beside her and looking like a damn fool. "Alright, what's that stupid grin for now?" she asked suspiciously.

"That was _awesome_ ," he responded, just getting a giggle out of Noah in the back seat – he thought his mum was pretty awesome, too, even if he didn't really know what had just happened.

"H-Huh?"

Bickslow had only been waiting for years for Lucy to actually say something like that to her parents, and it had finally happened, and it had been _so_ much better than he'd expected. "You. In there. What you said to them," he said. " _You_ were awesome."

Lucy couldn't help but blush slightly as she quickly glanced back to him. "You… You think so?"

"Oh, definitely."

"W-Well, I mean… It's not like it hadn't been coming for a long time now…" she said. "And we both know _you_ weren't going to be able to say anything to them. I'm just as tired of it all as you are, Bicks."

Bickslow smiled at his wife as he gently squeezed her hand between them. "I know you are," he said softly. "But did you mean it though? What you said me actually being what's best for you?" Of course, even after sixteen years together, he had his doubts about whether or not he really was the best person for her. But when Lucy had said that earlier, Bickslow swore he'd felt a tear roll down his cheek.

Lucy could only scoff. "Of course I didn't. You think I can't do better than you? I could have someone like _Ren Akatsuki_ if I wanted to. Mmm, Mister Tall, Dark, and, Handsome…"

"Hey, I thought _I_ was Mister Tall, Dark, and Handsome?"

"You are, sweetheart. You are," she said reassuringly, patting his knee while keeping her eyes mostly on the road. She really had no idea what Ren even looked like anyway. "But I love you and that's what's important."

"Yeah, sure…"

She laughed lightly as Bickslow only turned in his seat to sulk towards the window. "Anyway…" She looked to the reflection of her son in the rear-view mirror to ask, "We're getting ice-cream remember, so what flavour do you want? Noah?"

"Ooh! Chocolate chip cookie dough!" Noah answered excitedly, almost bouncing out of his seatbelt.

"Chocolate chip cookie dough it is then," Lucy laughed again. "And what about you, Bicks?"

For a moment, Lucy thought that Bickslow was just going to continue sulking and ignore her, but then the promise of ice-cream had him caving and he mumbled, "…Chocolate chip cookie dough."

Oh, how she loved her boys…

* * *

Unsurprisingly, after keeping their distance for a few weeks, as soon as Lucy and Bickslow went back to having dinner every second Friday with Lucy's parents, things returned to normal – _normal_ where the parentals just kept making only _somewhat_ obvious remarks about how Lucy needed to leave Bickslow and start dating someone else. The fact she'd been in her second trimester at that point hadn't fazed her parents at all, either.

Bickslow just went back to dealing with it and keeping his mouth mostly shut during dinners, and Lucy just tried her best to change the subject every time her father started telling her about some nice young man he'd met that just happened to be divorced and fond of children.

But alas, it wasn't long before Bickslow found himself staring up at his bedroom ceiling early one Sunday morning, and wondering just why the fuck it is that his parents-in-law had had such a hard time accepting the fact that _he_ was the one their daughter had chosen to spend her life with. Honestly though, in Bickslow's mind, sixteen, nearly _seventeen_ years was a long time to hold a grudge. And damn it, he really wanted to know just what Jude's problem with him was.

It wasn't like he had anything better to do that day anyway, since Noah wasn't due back from a sleepover until after lunch, and Lucy was out of town until Tuesday for a writing conference.

So Bickslow pulled himself out of his warm and cosy (and empty) bed, quickly jumped in the shower, got himself dressed in just slacks and a hoodie, and then got in the car to drive all the way over to his father-in-law's house.

Layla opened the door for him with a smile on her face. She'd never really minded Bickslow, to be honest, although the fact that they were expecting their second child had certainly impacted on her shift to be reasonably indifferent towards him. "Good morning, Bickslow," she said brightly. "Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, yeah. Everything is fine," Bickslow quickly answered. "Can I uh, talk to Jude? Please?"

"Of course you can!" Layla stepped aside to invite Bickslow into the house, and after closing the door behind them both, she was calling out, "Jude? Darling? Bickslow is here to see you!"

Jude was sitting in the front living room, paper spread out before him and his coffee sitting beside him on the table. And when Bickslow walked in behind his wife, boy, was he not pleased. He was so _displeased_ to see his son-in-law that he merely ignored his presence entirely and just looked back down to the paper in his hands.

"Did you want anything, Bickslow?" Layla asked. "Have you had breakfast yet?"

"I'm fine, thank you, Layla."

"Well, I'll leave you two to it then!"

As soon as Layla left, Bickslow found himself wishing desperately that she'd stayed. Jude was fucking terrifying, and the glare he was giving Bickslow over his classes then made his skin crawl. Bickslow wasn't afraid to admit that his father-in-law was a scary son of a bitch.

"What do you want?" Jude asked suddenly. It was never good when Bickslow visited by himself, and Jude just really didn't like Bickslow being in his house at all. He could tolerate it when Lucy and Noah were with him, of course, but that was it.

"I, uh…" Bickslow rubbed at the back of his neck while looking around at the immaculately clean room before spying the free armchair opposite Jude and quickly sitting down on it. "I just want to, um…"

"Just spit it out already."

He let out a shaky breath for forcing himself to look his father-in-law in the eyes, and then finally said, "I want to know why you hate me so much."

Jude looked to Bickslow in surprise, his brow creasing slightly as he stared the younger man down. "Excuse me?"

"I… I want to know why you hate me," Bickslow repeated. He sure as hell believed he had the right to know why, so he was going to ask until he got an answer he was happy with. "Is it because I broke your back window just after you moved here? Because, I mean… _I_ paid for it to be replaced, and I've apologised a million—"

"It's not because of the window," Jude snapped. Sure, he'd been pissed at the kid for breaking his damn window with a baseball (and it had narrowly missed Lucy at the time as well), but that wasn't why Jude hated him.

Bickslow nodded. He hadn't expected it to be about the window. "Okay, then… Is it… Is it because I got Lucy knocked up when she was seventeen?" he guessed. He expected that to be part of it, even if it hadn't come out until _after_ they'd been married.

"No," Jude answered simply. "She's as much to blame for that happening as you are." Of course, Jude really had wanted to murder Bickslow once he'd found out about it, but Lucy really had been just as stupid to actually let it happen.

"Then what? _Please_ , just tell me why it is you have hated my entire existence for the last seventeen years."

He set his paper down to look at the younger man. Admittedly, Jude was realising that he'd never exactly made it obvious why he hated Bickslow so much… And, well… If he wanted to know, then why could Jude just tell him? Bickslow was a grown man, and if he thought he could handle the truth, then sobeit.

After a moment, where Bickslow only stared pleadingly back to his father-in-law and awaited the answer, Jude began, "You're rude."

"I... Yes, okay, I'll admit it, I can be," Bickslow agreed, nodding.

"You're arrogant. Selfish, impulsive, thoughtless…" Jude continued, watching Bickslow squirm in his seat. And Jude had to admit, he got a kick out of seeing it happen. Bickslow obviously wasn't used to people calling him out on what he was. Picking up his paper from his lap again, he added simply, "And you married my daughter without asking my permission."

"H-Huh?"

Jude turned the page before picking up his coffee to take a sip. "You heard me."

"You mean… You mean you've been pissed at me for all this time because I didn't fucking ask you if I could marry Lucy?"

"Correct."

Bickslow was absolutely stunned. Of all the things for Jude to have been shitty about for over a fucking decade, Bickslow hadn't expected it to be _that_. And he'd always known that Jude had had _some_ old-fashioned beliefs and all, but asking permission to marry his damn daughter? Last he'd checked, Lucy had been a grown woman when he'd proposed anyway.

"Would you have even _given_ me permission to marry her if I'd asked you?" he asked.

"No."

And really, Bickslow wasn't even surprised by that answer. And so he only shrugged as he got up – he'd gotten his answer, so there was really no point in staying. "Yeah, I wouldn't have either, to be honest," he mumbled. And, well… He could be an arrogant son of a bitch when he really wanted to be (just like Jude had pointed out), so Bickslow couldn't quite stop himself from smirking victoriously as he held up both his middle fingers to the man and backed out of the room while added, "But I still married her anyway, so suck on that, _Dad_."

* * *

 _On another note... The whole baseball!Bickslow part of this story is actually going to be another story, including Bickslow breaking the window and them first getting together. I've had that idea for a whole lot longer than this one, but I just couldn't help but tie these two together. When the baseball dorks AU will be written, however, is not something I know. If I can find the motivation/inspiration to start it, I'll try get it done reasonably soon. I have a few LaxLu/LaLu requests I want to get finished before I focus on anything else._


	9. Strangers (Rated M)

_Honestly, I have no words for this. It was just an idea I had ages ago, and... I needed to write it. Even if it was pretty much just supposed to be porn-without-plot (I tried making plot though... I did. I think I succeeded, too). Anyway, I couldn't bring myself to proof this either, because it's 3am now, and I'm just so over this fic that I need it posted so I can stop staring at it. This has been sitting in my WIP folder for more than six months - and sure, that's short compared to some of my fics, but still..._

 _And, yes, this is M, because of smut. Bad smut, most likely, but eh, I'm tryin' here. I am. I did say this collection would include M rated stories eventually._

* * *

 _ **Summary** : With the kids gone for the night, Lucy makes the most of the opportunity and plans a romantic evening with someone she hasn't seen in far too long._

 _ **Rating** : M_

* * *

 **Strangers**

* * *

Lucy was strangely just a little nervous as she sat at her favourite restaurant's bar that night, slowly sipping on her martini. She wasn't all that sure why she was nervous, but the blonde just assumed it had something to do with the fact that the same bar she was sitting at was where she'd first met her husband – the one she had in fact been married to for the last nearly twelve years. And, well… Right then, Lucy wasn't exactly there to meet her _husband_.

Still, that being said, she was incredibly excited. Aside from always loving when she was able to visit her favourite restaurant every now and then, she rarely got to do anything exciting those days – _especially_ not at night – because she was always so busy running around after her kids or was busy working. But that night…

That night, Lucy was going to have some fun. All of it had been planned to perfection, and she'd been looking forward to it for weeks.

She tried so hard not to check her phone every five seconds to see if she'd somehow missed a message from her husband or her best friend who was looking after her kids for the night. She was almost tempted to turn her phone off just so she couldn't check it compulsively, but Lucy knew she couldn't do that. She suppressed a small sigh by bringing her peach martini up to her lips to take another sip, and as soon as she'd set it down, Lucy couldn't help but look down to her phone once again – but only to check the time. Her date for the evening was due to arrive in just a few more minutes, and Lucy really couldn't wait.

When she saw the time on her phone tick over to exactly 8 p.m., Lucy cast a glance over to the doors at the front of the room, and her stomach did a nervous flutter when she saw her blue-and-black haired date for the night heading straight towards her. _Right on time._ If it was one thing Bickslow had always been good at, it was showing up _exactly_ on time; never a minute late nor early.

He took the seat at the bar next to her after ordering his usual gin and tonic and didn't stop himself from leaning back slightly just to let his eyes wander down the blonde's slender form on the bar stool, from her exposed shoulders and down to her shapely legs where the mauve dress clung snugly around her thighs. Bickslow only wondered just how she'd managed to keep her figure after a little over a decade, because the only exercise _he_ managed to get those days was from running around after his kids, and that certainly hadn't kept _him_ in shape.

"Damn, Cosplayer…" He gave a low whistle as he looked back up. She'd stayed in shape over the years, which was a little more than he could say for himself – good thing his wife still loved him, though. _Whoever snagged her up is a lucky, lucky man._ "Been a while, huh?"

"It's been _too_ long, if you ask me," Lucy responded with a smirk settling on her lips.

"Now that I can agree with." He'd been looking forward to that night far more than he should've, and they'd been planning it for _months_. It just been about finding the time to fit it into their schedules. Yet now their night was finally here, and god was he loving it already. "So tell me," Bickslow began as he turned on his chair to face his blonde date for the evening more comfortably. "What has the ever lovely Cosplayer been up to for the last decade?"

She couldn't help but giggle as she began to circle her pointer finger around the rim of her martini glass, shrugging a shoulder at the man beside her as she answered, "Oh, you know… Working, having kids, trying to stay sane…"

Bickslow scoffed. "Staying sane? Nah, not worth it," he said with a dismissive wave of his hand. "I lost my sanity years ago, baby, and I'm still fine."

" _'Fine'_ , huh?"

"Totally fine," Bickslow grinned, and then crossed the gap between their two chairs just to whisper in her ear, "Embrace the insanity, Cosplayer."

Lucy rolled her eyes, placing a hand on Bickslow's shoulder to push him back. "Yeah, yeah. I'll think about it," she mumbled. She couldn't very well embrace the insanity when her husband had very much done it himself… _Someone_ had to stay sane in their house. She took another sip on her drink before changing the subject back and asking, "What about you though? What has the _elusive_ Bickslow been up to?"

Bickslow wasn't even going to question why Lucy was calling him _elusive_. Because really, he wasn't. Not even close. Instead, he decided to mimic his date's action: shrugging a shoulder slightly and answering innocently, "Just the same, really. Working, having kids… Trying not to make my wife go _insane_."

"I'm sure she appreciates it."

"Oh yeah, definitely," Bickslow chuckled. All hell would break loose if his wife went insane though, and Bickslow certainly didn't want that.

The bartender made his way back down to that section of the bar again and they both ordered themselves some fresh drinks – Lucy with the peach martini again, but Bickslow went with an old fashioned – before deciding to move their conversation over to one of the quiet, candle-lit tables. One of the things Lucy had always loved the most about that restaurant was the ambience of the bar. It wasn't dark and dingy like every other separate bar in town. It was quiet, and it was classy, and although it wasn't the type of place to get a quick drink with co-workers at the end of the day, it was sure as hell a place to catch up with an old friend. What Lucy liked most was how romantic it was, as well as how timeless. Barely anything had changed since she'd first visited fifteen years earlier – nothing major, at least – and she loved that.

"So tell me," Lucy began once she got herself comfortable on the bar stool at the small table they'd chosen, just barely secluded from the rest of the crowd that had gathered there for the evening. "Where exactly does your _wife_ think you are tonight?"

"At a conference for the weekend."

"Is that so?" she hummed.

Bickslow nodded as he came to rest his chin in his palm with his elbow on the edge of the table. A wide grin was planted on his lips as he kept his eyes focused on his date across from him. Oh, how he could never get sick of looking at her. She looked just as good as she had a decade earlier, if not _better_ ; the Heartfilia women sure could age gracefully though. "What about your husband?" he asked. "Where does that lucky son of a bitch think you are?"

Lucy laughed again. Perhaps flattery was going to be a common theme with Bickslow that night… not that she minded. "Probably just at home," she answered, stealing a glance to her phone laying face up on the table next to her martini – it didn't go unnoticed by her date, either. "Maybe cleaning the house, making it all nice and spotless for him for when he gets back from out of town and being a good wife to him…"

He couldn't help but grimace, even if it was clear from the devilish smirk on her lips that she was just teasing.

"Or maybe," Lucy continued then, her voice a little softer as she leant in to mimic her date's posture, "he thinks I'm all tucked up in bed, with all the lights off, _screaming_ his name as I finger myself so hard I see stars."

"I…" Bickslow could only gape at the woman before him. It was one hell of a picture – one that went straight from his brain and down to his crotch in less than a second. He tugged on the fabric of his suddenly too tight jeans just to discreetly readjust himself and clear his throat just to remind himself not to fucking _stare_. Although that was hard… So very hard. But to add insult to injury, and make Lucy even more amused, Bickslow's voice cracked when he eventually found it again and said, "Y-Yep, he's probably thinking that's where you are… Most definitely…"

The screen on Lucy's phone lit up and Bickslow snatched it away from her before she could look at it. "Hey! That could be an emergency! Give it back!" It could be Erza trying to get hold of her – maybe something had happened with one of her children! Lucy wished she could just ignore her phone, but she was too worried about something disastrous happening that she just couldn't do it.

"If it was an emergency, your phone would be _ringing_ ," Bickslow pointed out, waving it in his hand before he turned it back to him so he could check the notification on her lock screen. It was just a message. Nothing major, and nothing that needed to be replied to, as far as he was concerned. "I thought we agreed last night that we wouldn't check our phones unless it was _actually_ important?" And as far as Bickslow could tell, there was only one reason that _either_ of their phones would be ringing that night.

"Fine, fine…" Lucy mumbled.

"Good." He pocketed Lucy's phone before lifting up the _old fashioned_ to his lips and taking a drink. "Now then… Why don't you tell me about this husband of yours?" Bickslow asked slyly as he came to rest his elbow on the edge of the table again.

Lucy only cocked an eyebrow at the request. Of all the things she'd expected for that night, Bickslow asking to hear about her _husband_ was not one of them. "You want me to tell _you_ about my _husband_? Are you sure about that?"

"Positive," he grinned.

And, well, who was Lucy to deny him of that conversation then? Not if he really wanted it… Sighing, Lucy hooked her right leg over her other knee and began bobbing her foot just enough that it lightly brushed against the side of Bickslow's calf each time. "My husband… Where to begin…" she murmured to herself for beginning properly, "Well, we just passed our twelfth wedding anniversary two weeks ago, and he got the most _gorgeous_ freshwater pearl necklace, as well as some silk knickers that I may or may not be wearing right now…"

Bickslow had to stifle the urge to lean over and peek under the table. The fact he knew he'd be seeing them later (and taking them off her) made it easy though. "Sounds like the guy likes to spoil you," he murmured.

"Oh yes, he definitely likes to spoil me," Lucy agreed. Although as far as the silk lingerie gifts have gone, Lucy had known full well that it had been more of a gift for her husband than for her. The guy had always had a thing for lingerie – at least when _she_ was the one wearing it. "We actually met at this same bar, too. Fifteen years ago."

"Fifteen years ago, huh? You don't look a day over twenty. How's that even possible?"

"Oh, shush," she giggled. "He was a bartender back then, and he kept hitting on me and giving me free drinks."

"They were good drinks, I hope?"

"Oh, most definitely. He makes a _mean_ margarita, though. Mmm, best thing I've ever had to date." She very rarely got to treat herself to them though… Not those days. "Oh, he's such a sweetheart though…" she sighed happily.

Bickslow's smile grew wider. "Yeah?"

Lucy nodded. "Mm-hmm. He's a complete _dork_ , of course, but he's so sweet," she said. "He brings me little gifts every now and then – and for the kids, too. And the _kids_! oh gosh, he's such a wonderful dad to them. I mean, between you and me, I'm pretty damn glad I got knocked up by him and not anyone else." Of course, she'd already been married for a little over two years when she did get pregnant with her first child, but it hadn't exactly been the greatest of times for it to happen. Still they'd made it work, and Lucy really had been glad about getting to have a child – so glad she'd gone on to have two more with him! But that was beside the point…

Bickslow chuckled to himself as he lifted his drink. "Well, the guy sounds pretty damn awesome to me," he said. "And, just my two cents here, I think you're pretty damn lucky to have a guy like _him_. Most women would kill to have husbands like that. Well, I think so, at least." He shrugged.

"Oh, I know how lucky I am. Don't worry," she giggled. Lucy kept her eyes on Bickslow's as she took a sip of her own martini, and she was almost sure she felt herself begin to blush when he winked at her. The air of confidence and cockiness that surrounded the man almost made Lucy want to just get out of her seat and drag him into an empty bathroom stall right then and there, her dignity be damned. She realised though, that her lack of experience of dating anyone other than her _husband_ had her at a loss of where to go next. So she decided to just keep following Bickslow's lead for the time being, and asked, "Why don't you tell me about your wife, then?"

"My wife?" Oh, now that was too easy. Bickslow could gush about how fantastic his wife was for _hours_ if no one stopped him. That night though, he would stop himself before he even started. "She's fucking _gorgeous_. What else can I say?"

"Aw, I'm sure you can say a _lot_ more than that…"

He shrugged. "Well, sure… If you have five hours."

"Okay, maybe not then," Lucy laughed nervously. Her babysitter for her youngest could only stay until nine-thirty, and it was already half-past eight as it was. She didn't have time to hear Bickslow gush about his wife right then! Another time, perhaps. "What about your kids then?" she asked after humming in thought for a moment, deciding to take the initiative. "You said you have kids?"

"Oh yes. Three wonderful little _demons_ ," Bickslow grinned widely. Oh, how he loved those demons though. He didn't know where he'd be without them. "Two boys and a beautiful little girl – six months old just yesterday."

"That sounds absolutely perfect," she hummed.

"It most definitely is perfect," he agreed. The addition of their third child had rounded their family out perfectly. Originally, the plan had always been two children, but their first two had both been boys, and… Well, they'd both really wanted a girl and so they'd decided to try again and hope to get that perfect little girl they'd always hoped for. And Bickslow loved all of his kids – not so much when they were being little shitheads which his oldest two were known for being – but his baby daughter? He was always going to have a special place in his heart just for her.

"Tell me more about them," Lucy asked as she leant forward once again to rest her chin in her palm, now that Bickslow had sat back. "What are your boys like?"

"Ah. The oldest, nine in October," Bickslow began, "is _always_ getting into trouble. But he has one hell of an imagination and he is honestly the best big brother anyone could ask for."

"He sounds sweet, just like his Daddy."

Bickslow could only roll his eyes as Lucy giggled to herself. "Yeah, well, he's going to grow up to be one hell of a charmer." And admittedly, Bickslow was kind of scared of it. "Always asking if he can hold the baby, or help his mum with anything… He's a good kid. He really is," he said. "And the youngest boy – he just turned six a few months ago. He's like his big brother's little shadow. He always wants to do what his brother is doing, go where he's going… I'm just glad they don't fight."

"Sounds like you've got a pretty perfect family there, Bix," Lucy whispered. His daughter was going to have so many knights in shining armour to be over-protective when she was older… And oh, it just warmed Lucy's heart to think about it.

And really, Bickslow knew how perfect his family was. He wouldn't change a single thing about it, probably not ever in a million years.

The shrill ringtone coming from his person stopped him from agreeing with his date on the perfection that was his family. "Damn it, who the hell is that?" Bickslow whispered to himself as he patted his chest and then his thighs down to try and pinpoint the source of the ringing. _Too many damn pockets. Where the fuck is it?_ He found his own phone in his left jeans pocket and stared down at the blank screen with a frown.

"It's probably my phone," Lucy answered his question before he could even ask it, and she could only roll her eyes when she swore she could see the damn light bulb go off above his head.

"Ah, of course!" So he felt around his pockets quickly again until he found Lucy's phone in his right _jacket_ pocket, and stared at the screen for a second, ignored Lucy holding her hand out for him to hand it to her, before finally sliding his thumb across the bottom of the screen to answer it and bring it up to his ear. "Yes? What is it?" Bickslow said then.

Lucy hooked her heels onto the bar at the bottom of the stool just so she could sit up slightly and try reaching across the table to get her phone back. "Hey! Give me that!" she demanded, one arm supporting herself on the table and the other flailing and trying to avoid Bickslow's own swatting her away.

"She's a little busy right now," Bickslow said as he turned to the side, effectively keeping Lucy's phone out of her reach. He glanced back to his date with a smirk when she only gave up with a huff, sitting back in her chair and crossing her arms to glare at him. Bickslow continued to listen attentively to the woman on the other end of the line, and he couldn't help but sigh and rub his hand across his forehead as she continued to prattle on. "Does he—Levy, does he want to go home?"

Lucy's interest in the conversation suddenly piqued again and she sat up slightly. "What is it?" she asked softly. If it was Levy on the phone, then she knew exactly what it was about, and she couldn't help but worry slightly.

Bickslow only shook his head. He could deal with it perfectly himself, _thank you very much._ "Put him on the phone for me then." He sighed again while pinching the bridge of his nose and waiting for Levy's phone to be handed off to the annoying (at least right then) child. Bickslow didn't dare let his frustration show in his voice once he heard the smaller one on the other end of the line. Lucy only had the pleasure of watching his entire posture soften, from his face and to his shoulders hunched over as he leant on the table then, and even his tone when he began to speak again. "Hey, bud—no, it's not mum. Do you want her? Okay, alright. Listen, are you going to tell me what's wrong? Levy says you're not joining in with the other kids. Uh-huh. Okay. So it's Valen—Okay, how about you go get your brother and put him on the phone for me, okay?"

"Are you sure you don't want me to handle it?" Lucy asked with a sly smirk as Bickslow only waited for Levy's phone to be passed off to yet another person. She'd be lying if she said she didn't find how frustrated Bickslow was just a little entertaining. And oh, he was trying so hard to keep himself calm, too…

"Nope. I'm fine," he muttered. But really, just once he'd like to be able to go out _without_ his children and not have to be the mediator for some annoying situation. At that rate, Bickslow was sure he wasn't going to get another night free to do whatever he wanted until he was in his _fifties_.

"Suit yourself," she giggled. And when her date only began to argue with what she assumed to be Valen's older brother and remind him to look out for his _younger_ brother, Lucy took the opportunity to excuse her to the bar to order from new drinks.

It had been a long time since she'd been able to enjoy more than just the odd glass of wine, and she was most definitely going to make the most her night out, no matter how little time she actually had that night.

* * *

By the time they were hopping out of the taxi and walking up the steps to the front door of the house, both were already at least a little tipsy – although that had always been the plan so no one was complaining. The ride from the bar itself had been just a little uncomfortable, mostly due to the taxi driver talking to them non-stop and asking them all about their plans for the rest of the evening (and honestly, Lucy had been ridiculously creeped out). But once free and feeling the refreshing breeze on their faces, they'd both remembered _exactly_ what the rest of their evening entailed, and Bickslow hadn't been able to stop himself from spinning his date around right on the front porch just to finally press his lips to hers.

And oh, how he'd wanted to do that all night.

Lucy giggled once she finally managed to pull her lips away from her date's. "Patience, Bickslow," she scolded him gently, all while reaching back behind herself just to slide his hands _away_ from her ass – he could touch her after, just not while they were still outside and while there was a sixteen-year-old babysitter waiting for them to actually get inside. "At least wait until we're inside and Wendy has gone home."

"But I've been so good all night…" Bickslow mumbled. And really, he had been. He'd been on his best behaviour! He hadn't laid a single finger on her until then, not once, and it had been ridiculously tempting to break his cardinal rule of not having sex in a bathroom cubicle. The only upside to their date having only been an hour and a half because of the babysitter needing to leave early was that Bickslow hadn't had to wait long just to get back home and have Lucy like he'd been imagining all goddamn night – it had been hard not to, knowing exactly what would be happening at the _end_ of the night before their date had even begun.

Lucy just rolled her eyes at the man when he refused to separate himself entirely from her as she unlocked the front door, keeping his arms wrapped around her waist and insistently and softly pressing kisses all over her neck and shoulder. "God, you're like a horny teenager."

"Ain't nothin' wrong with being a horny teenager, baby," he chuckled. Although he really wished he was a horny teenager again – or at least had the _stamina_ of one. He missed those days…

Once the door was unlocked, Bickslow did reluctantly separate himself from his date for the evening, and only proceeded to scour the house for the babysitter to pay her and send her home, as instructed by Lucy (he'd paid for everything else, so why not the babysitter too?). By the time he'd locked all the doors again and made his way to the master bedroom, Lucy was already sitting on the end of the bed and waiting for him.

He couldn't keep the grin off his face when she lifted her hand and beckoned him closer. As soon as he was close though, he was kneeling on the edge and slowly climbing over her, pushing her back down into the mattress with his hands on either side of her shoulders and pressing his lips back onto hers. His tongue snaked out, tracing her lips before meeting and twisting with her own, while fingers that weren't his own went straight to his hips to untuck his shirt and undo his belt.

He chuckled against her mouth before pulling back only slightly. Lucy whined and pouted, but Bickslow didn't let her pull him back down. Not yet. " _Patience_ , Cosplayer," he teased.

Lucy caught on instantly, of course, but she wasn't interested in being patient then. And she sure as hell didn't want Bickslow to be, either. She instead, she brought her hands up to the collar of his fine shirt, and tugged him back down until their faces were just barely touching, noses brushing together, and she said firmly, "If you don't get this dress off me in the next sixty seconds, I'm putting my pyjamas on and going to bed."

It was all a game to her, but taking things slowly? She really wasn't interested in that.

Bickslow grinned. "Yes, ma'am." He kissed her quickly, and then got to work. The shoes were first, knowing exactly how annoying it was when fabric got caught on stilettos. Kneeling on the floor, with Lucy sitting up and leaning on her elbows, watching him, he undid the buckles as fast as he could and pulled each heel off one at a time. Then, with the shoes being tossed behind him, he was back on the bed and wrapping an arm around the blonde's waist to pull her up, while his other hand found the zip at the top of her strapless dress and pulled it all the way down in one go. Bickslow almost wanted to take his time pulling the tight dress off her, but… Well, he probably only had twenty seconds left as it was, so he didn't have time to drool over his date and relish in exposing her flesh, inch by inch. So, he dug his hands into the sides of the fabric, and began rolling it down, her breasts popping free first, and getting it all the way down to her knees as quickly as he could.

Lucy sat back down on the bed to pull the gathered roll of fabric away from her feet and throw it somewhere else. "Fifty-two seconds. Not bad," she giggled.

"The prize was worth it." But… With Lucy in nothing but the silk panties he'd teased him about earlier, Bickslow was feeling rather overdressed. And hard. But mostly overdressed. He didn't have the patience to let Lucy undress him though. So instead, he climbed back off the bed to kick each of his shoes off, and then get the rest of his own clothes off.

Bickslow didn't waste any more time than necessary to cover Lucy again, and with her legs wrapping around his hips and her tongue coming to dance with his own, he couldn't help but groan into her mouth. They were both still way overdressed for his liking.

He kissed and licked his way down from her lips then, leaving a burning trail down the column of her neck, the valley of her breasts, and her stomach. His fingers hooked into the sides of her panties and only then did Lucy bring her legs back together, just to let him drag them down her legs. And when he settled himself between her thighs after, forcing her legs back apart with his arms hooked around her thighs, Lucy couldn't help but pull her lip between her teeth and watch shyly as Bickslow completely avoided touching her where she wanted it the most, and instead gently placed a row of kisses along the faded pink scar from her third baby – the kid had been too comfortable the wrong way up, so coming out the _natural_ way just hadn't been possible.

She didn't know what it was with Bickslow, but every time he was between her legs, the _scar worship_ came first.

And, only after that, did he finally slip down just that little bit further, and Lucy was remembering just how good the man was with his tongue – not that she could ever forget, of course. Within seconds Lucy was left moaning, panting, and blindly gripping anything she could get her hands on – mostly the sheets, or Bickslow's head between her thighs where he was doing wonderful, _amazing_ things with his mouth.

"I'm… God, B-Bix… I'm going to— _oh_ … Fuck…"

Bickslow only hummed against her, revelling in how she pushed herself against him even more. "Mm-hmm…"

He continued his ministrations on her with only one goal on his mind: to make her scream. Simply because it had been far too long since he'd heard her really let loose, and he'd missed hearing it. He knew he'd have no trouble achieving his goal, though. Oh no. Never. And Bickslow knew it wouldn't be long before Lucy was reaching her climax anyway. He knew how little it took for her to cum – at least with him – and he knew exactly how it happened. And it was happening then. Her voice grew higher, her legs would squeeze him almost hard enough to give him a headache, and she'd be doing everything she could to grind herself down onto his tongue, even with his arms wrapped around her legs and her hips and keeping her mostly pinned down.

So he kept licking, sucking, and _biting_ her – just hard enough, how he knew she liked – until he felt her tense around his tongue deep inside her, and she pulled even harder on his hair, and her thighs closed around his head; until he made her scream, and the tension building inside her was all let go like a tidal wave that left her gasping her breath, and Bickslow tasted her sweet release on his tongue.

He let her down from her high slowly, loosening his grip on her and just gently circling her oversensitive bundle of nerves with his tongue before dipping back down to her entrance again.

She had a dazed and dreamy smile on her face when he finally did leave his favourite place (really, it was); like she was drunk on more than just the cocktails she'd been drinking all night, and Bickslow knew it to be true. "I like it when you're noisy," he chuckled as he came to be level with her again, only to let Lucy lazily roll them over so she was perched directly over his hips.

"I know you do," she murmured. She liked being able to be noisy, too… It just didn't happen very often. Not when she usually had two other children that were really good at interrupting them sleeping just a few doors down the hall. The baby, though… Well, she slept through anything, so Lucy wasn't worried about her. Not having to worry about keeping quiet made her feel young again, and it was fun. "And luckily for you," she continued, leaning down to press a chaste kiss to her date's lips. "I'm not done being noisy just yet."

"I'd be disappointed if you were."

With a smirk, Lucy made a show of dragging her hands over his chest, feeling the muscles beneath her fingertips, all the way down to the waistband of his boxers. She wiggled herself down his legs just to tuck her fingers under the fabric and pull them down, but did so slow enough that Bickslow rolled his eyes before reaching down to push them the rest of the way down.

"My, my," Lucy teased as she finally crawled her way back up, wrapping her hand around his cock and stroking him, slowly but firmly and swiping her thumb across the tip. "Someone's impatient."

"Lucy…" Bickslow warned. "Wrong game."

She pouted. "But I'm having so much fun…"

"Oh, I'm sure." He pulled her hand off of him before settling his own on her waist and sitting up so her chest was against him. "But you can tease me all you damn want _next_ _time_ , alright?" he said, pressing a chaste kiss to her pouting lips – honestly, it was adorable, and it was his downfall and she knew it. "Just not tonight."

Lucy sighed. "Fine…" she mumbled. He had a point anyway. It was the wrong game and the wrong night. Besides, if she was going to tease him, she wanted to do it from the very beginning – make him practically _begging_ to be inside her before she'd even gotten all of his clothes off. She liked doing that. And with the promise of being able to do all of that, Lucy pushed her date back down onto the bed, and finally reached down to guide him into her waiting core.

He slid into her easily and Lucy couldn't help but let out a breathless moan. It had always been the best with Bickslow, just the way he filled her and made her feel complete in so many other ways. She laid her hands on his stomach to give herself some support, and slowly began easing herself up, just to slide back down onto his cock and do it all over again. And for once, Bickslow was more than willing to just let Lucy have free reign. It was her night anyway, and as much as he loved being able to give her everything, he knew she was more than capable of _taking_ anything she wanted for herself, too. He knew that was why she liked being the one on top – and aside from him really damn loving the view – he knew that she liked being the one in control.

So he just let her take charge, watching mesmerised the way she rode him. Breasts, bouncing, muscles clenching each time she picked her hips up to bring herself back down. Sometimes he couldn't help but thrust up into her, just to hear that sweet moan of hers when he hit that sweet spot inside her.

It wasn't long before Lucy fell down onto her date's chest though, only able to roll her hips over him as he gripped her waist and took over, thrusting himself into her over and over again.

"Fuck, Lucy, I'm gonna…"

Lucy couldn't even lift her head from his shoulder. "Uh-huh… Me too…" she gasped. " _God_ , right there— _yes_! Bix!" It had become a habit to bite down on something whenever she came, just to stop herself from screaming out whenever she felt she couldn't control it herself. And that time, she had to bite down on something, and that something just happened to be Bickslow's shoulder.

And with her core clenching and gripping his member even tighter with the waves of her orgasm finally breaking her, Bickslow reached his own peak right there with her, slowly continuing to pump into her until he was completely spent.

Lucy giggled when she finally found it in herself to roll off of him and collapse down onto the bed. "That was…" She paused for breath. "Really, _really_ great." It hadn't been the best sex she'd ever had, but it was definitely high up on the list. And she had a feeling that it had all been to do with their _date_.

Bickslow huffed a laugh in agreement. "Round two then?" he suggested, and he couldn't keep his straight-faced-grin for long before he broke out into laughter along with Lucy.

"Yeah, you wish, baby," Lucy laughed.

He was getting too old for that. And right then, he was way too tired for another round. With a groan, he sat himself up and reached for his discarded boxers on the ground, and quickly pulled them back on once he was standing. "I'm gonna order some pizza," he said while rummaging around in his jacket on the floor for his phone – or _any_ phone, really. "Do you want garlic bread?"

"Um, yes. Of course," Lucy answered. "We've been married for how long now, and you still have to ask if I want _garlic_ _bread_?"

He returned to the bed just to lean down and press a gentle kiss to her lips. "Twelve wonderful years," he murmured. "And I was just checking."

"Uh-huh… Sure… Now hurry up and order. I'm starving."


	10. Baby Fever (T)

_Actual notes at the end for this one._

 _ **Summary** : Practically everyone is getting knocked up and getting started on building their families. Everyone except Lucy, that is. And Bickslow can't help but worry that they'll be next - and that, he is definitely not ready for._

 **Rating** : T

* * *

 **Baby Fever**

* * *

Lucy enjoyed many things in life, and one of the things she enjoyed most was her friends' happiness. So when one of her closest friends in the whole wide world announces that they're expecting a wonderful, little, bundle of joy in the coming months, Lucy was more than ecstatic about it. Yukino was the first of her friends to have a baby, and Lucy was just really excited to meet her and Macbeth's little boy or girl.

In a wonderful mood thanks to her afternoon with Yukino and Macbeth, Lucy wandered up the front path of her cosy, little abode with a smile on her face. That same smile was turning into a surprised grin when she opened the door to five over-excited hounds, and Lucy only laughed happily as she crouched down to pat them and let them greet her by quickly licking at her chin and wherever else their rough tongues could reach.

"Alright, alright, that's enough now," she laughed as she stood back up from the ground, and then after making sure each of the dogs were inside the house, she closed the door behind her and began heading inside.

The dogs being inside only told Lucy one thing, though, because she always put them outside in their backyard when she went out: it meant that her boyfriend was home. And that only made her day just that much better, because she hadn't been expecting him to be back until the next day. And considering that she'd been with him for just about six years at that point, Lucy was very much used to her boyfriend being out of town for occasionally weeks at a time. That was just part of his job, and she'd known full well what she'd been getting involved with when she started dating the professional gymnast that was her boyfriend named Bickslow. He had to travel sometimes, be it for competitions or even just training with a new coach. Lucy was okay with that.

With the dogs still running around her, excited that she was home and simultaneously leading her in the direction of where their actual faithful owner was, Lucy decided not to call out to her boyfriend to ask where he was, and instead just ventured further in to find him. She didn't want to wake him just in case he was sleeping.

Luckily for Lucy, he wasn't asleep. And when she checked their bedroom, she only found Bickslow sitting up in bed and watching the T.V. that was on the wall opposite the foot of the bed. Bickslow stretched his arms up above his head as she slid a little bit further down the bed when he saw Lucy walk into the room and drop her handbag down next to her nightstand. "I didn't hear you come in," he said, reaching for the remote beside him to put the television on mute.

"And I didn't think you'd be home until Tuesday," Lucy responded as she sat down on the edge of the bed and began pulling off her boots.

Bickslow yawned. "Yeah, well, I didn't really want to stick around for another two days to sightsee, so I decided to leave after training last night." Besides, he'd been to Pergrande before. There wasn't anything special about it. "I think my flight got in around ten thirty this morning," he continued through another yawn. "The flight to Sin was delayed though. Ended up sitting in the airport for four hours this morning or something."

"Why didn't you call me to pick you up?" she asked just a little disappointedly. She went to finally lay down next to the gymnast before quickly sitting up straight again and reaching up under her shirt to unclasp her bra and slip it off her arms. As much as she wanted to catch up on cuddle time with her boyfriend, just as she usually did whenever he got home from a trip, her bra had to go first, her bra had to go first. It was way too uncomfortable to be wearing in bed – or around the house at all for that matter. "Ah, much better," she sighed, and with her bra finally off for the day, Lucy turned back to Bickslow and curled up right next to him with her head on his shoulder.

He simply rolled his eyes at her before turning slightly to wrap his arms around the back of her shoulders and her waist, and then softly pressed his lips to hers before finally answering, "Because it's a two hour drive to the airport and I didn't want to disturb you."

"Oh, come on. You know I don't mind picking you up," Lucy insisted. But alas, she knew it wasn't worth arguing about, since Bickslow was already home and that was really all that mattered. As fine as she was with all of Bickslow's training and traveling commitments, she still missed him. It was a good thing she had his dogs to cuddle with at night. They made the bed feel far less empty. Sighing in contentment, she whispered, "I missed you."

"Mm, I missed you, too," Bickslow murmured. "The kids get into any mischief while I was gone?"

"Poppo ate the lilies I planted last week, and Pappa got stung by a bee when he tried to eat it."

"Well, you know they like to help you in the garden. That's their way of telling you the flowers look crap," Bickslow chuckled, only to have Lucy dig her fingers into his ribs for insulting her flowers. It wasn't his fault his dogs liked eating flowers. They'd only started doing that after Lucy had moved in and decided his backyard needed some flowers anyway. Their four-legged children were merely helping their human mother out – or at least that was what the dogs thought. "And Pappa was just… He was probably just trying to eat the bee so _you_ didn't get stung by it."

Lucy rolled her eyes. "Yeah, right." She loved the dogs, even though the only one they had adopted together was the dalmatian named _Puppu_ , but Lucy was very much convinced that they were not at all helping her by eating her little flowers and getting themselves stung by bees. It was rather difficult to apply the antibiotic cream from the vet when Pappa just kept licking it off his own snout. "How were your flights though?" Lucy asked a moment later, lifting her hand from Bickslow's shoulder to begin gently sifting her fingers through his hair and away from his forehead where it had dropped slightly; although she had to admit that she almost preferred his hair when he didn't have any products in it to keep it styled the way he liked it. "You look tired. Did you get any sleep on the plane?"

"Only a little on the flight from Pergrande to Sin, but it was barely a two-hour flight so I wouldn't have gotten any sleep on it anyway," he sighed into the pillow. "I couldn't sleep on the one from Sin, though. There was a kid behind me that kept kicking the back of my seat, and the woman next to me couldn't get her baby to stop crying for the entire flight."

"Aw, I'm sorry. Why don't you get some rest now? You'll be able to get at least a few hours in before dinner if you don't want to sleep for long."

Bickslow shook his head as best he could. "Nah, I'm okay. I'll just go to bed early tonight." He didn't really like sleeping during the day anyway. It always felt wasteful. Yawning again as he pressed the side of his face further into the pillow, he decided to ask, "But how was your day? Did you have a good day?"

"I did, I did. Although my day is much better now that you're home," Lucy murmured, then leant forward just to softly brush her lips over Bickslow's again. "I had lunch with 'Kino and Macbeth just before. Oh! That reminds me!"

"Hmm?"

"Yukino and Macbeth are going to have a baby!"

"Yeah? That's pretty fucking awesome," he said. "Those two will make awesome parents."

Lucy sighed contentedly into his shoulder. "That they will." She really had no doubts about that.

* * *

Bickslow was rolling his eyes as he listened to his best friend of thirteen years argue with the woman who'd basically become his sister over the last decade. Even with Laxus and Evergreen having been actually together for the better part of all the years he'd known the both of them, Bickslow still couldn't quite figure out how they were _still_ together sometimes. Then again, he was also pretty sure that Laxus would be lost without Evergreen, so it was really for the best that the woman could put up with the pigheadedness of his best friend.

If only they'd hurry up and get their wedding planned…

Himself, he had absolutely no intentions of ever getting married – and Lucy knew that – but his best friends had been engaged for near on two years at that point, and really, he was just getting bored of waiting. He wanted to be a best man already!

"I'm telling you, I am not getting married in a fucking church."

"And I'm not getting married in a goddamn park! I'm not going to pay a fortune for a dress, just to traipse it through the dirt and get grass stains on it!"

Lucy sighed as the brunette opposite her screeched at her fiancé. She'd only been helping them plan the wedding for a few weeks now, but she was already beginning to wonder if the two were even going to make it to the alter. That would require Evergreen and Laxus to actually agree on things, and Lucy had known them both long enough to know that it surprisingly didn't happen that often.

But really, she had to take Evergreen's side about the setting for their wedding. Park weddings were overrated, and they'd only just be entering spring at the date they'd set, so there was always the chance of it raining that day, and no one wanted an outdoor wedding when it was raining.

Raising her voice slightly just so she could make herself heard over the two bickering about just who it was that would be paying for Evergreen's dress, Lucy chimed in, "Okay, so Laxus doesn't want to have a church wedding; Ever doesn't want to have a park wedding… What about a bed and breakfast? Or maybe the yacht club in Hargeon? They have a nice hall there that you could use for the reception."

Laxus groaned. "The yacht club? Fuck no. That'd mean a beach wedding. I'd get sand in my shoes," he complained.

"Because that's totally the worst thing to ever happen," Evergreen mumbled.

"Woman do you even know what it's like to get sand in your shoes?"

"Of course I do, you moron! What kind of person hasn't gotten sand in their shoes before? Besides, if you're so worried about getting sand in your shoes, you can just not wear any shoes at all. Simple!"

"I'm not getting married at the beach. Simple."

Evergreen shook her head. "Gosh, and you think _I'm_ stubborn," she muttered under her breath. She really wouldn't have minded a beach wedding. She knew the yacht club Lucy meant. She'd been there before, and the banquet hall was rather beautiful – especially so at sunset.

She was well aware that she would ultimately get her way – Laxus almost always bent to accommodate all of her wishes. But she didn't want that to happen that time. It was for their wedding, after all, and she wanted her partner to be as happy as he possibly could be. If Laxus didn't want a beach wedding, then they wouldn't have a beach wedding.

But of course, that didn't mean she was going to bend and agree to getting married at Magnolia Gate Park. Hell no. They were just going to have to think of something else – or really, Lucy was going to have to. There was just no way in hell she and Laxus were going to be able to pull together a wedding in three months just by themselves, and they didn't really want to pay a wedding planner, so they'd gone to Lucy.

So as the betrothed couple sat in silence opposite them, mimicking each other's posture at opposite ends of the plush sofa, Bickslow only glanced to Lucy on the armchair beside him, tapping her fingers together in her lap and looking around the living room in an attempt to avoid looking at Laxus and Evergreen. The Shiba Inu named Pippi resting her head on his lap yawned and went back to snoozing, and not for the first time, Bickslow only found himself somewhat envious of his dogs' lives. Sleeping all day was appealing… Even more so when his girlfriend and best friends were talking about weddings.

He wasn't even sure why he was there right then at all, to be perfectly honest. He was supposed to be getting back into his usual training, and that meant he should've been at the gym right then and just finishing up his afternoon session. But that day, Bickslow just hadn't be bothered going. He didn't get many opportunities to have days off, so he'd just wanted to take one while he did have that opportunity. He'd just planned on catching up on some T.V. with Lucy, but then Laxus and Evergreen had come to visit and his peaceful day off with his girlfriend had turned into listening to his best friends argue about their wedding.

And really, there was only so much of listening to their wedding planning going absolutely nowhere that he could take. Sighing, he picked the sleepy shiba up from his lap and set her down by his feet so he could stand. "I'm getting a drink. Anyone want anything?" he announced as he turned for the kitchen in the adjoining room.

"Just some water, please," Lucy answered, scooting forward from her own armchair to kneel in front of the round coffee table and begin sorting through the bridal magazines she'd been collecting since agreeing to help with her friends' wedding.

Bickslow nodded. "Laxus? Beer?"

"Do you even have to ask?" the blond man grumbled.

"Fair point," Bickslow chuckled to himself before turning to Evergreen as she joined Lucy on the floor and began to flick through one of the magazines before her. "What about you, Ever? I still have that passionfruit cider you usually have."

"Oh, uh…" Evergreen bit her lip and glanced up to Laxus to see the slight grimace on his face. They'd been planning on sharing a certain bit of news with the two of them, but they'd never really agreed on a time to actually do so. However, Evergreen was sure that there was no time like the present to break the news, even if it was just a little bit earlier than _Laxus_ would've liked. Giving an encouraging smile to her blond partner, she glanced back up to Bickslow on the opposite side of the room before flicking through the magazine before her again. "I can't."

"Eh? What do you mean you can't?" Bickslow couldn't remember a time when his adoptive-sister had ever turned down her favourite passionfruit cider, not even when she had to drive home (although it barely had any alcohol in it anyway, so she'd never been worried about having one or two drinks of it before driving somewhere). "You're not on one of those stupid diets again, are you?"

"No, thank you," she glowered. Bickslow held up his hands in defence and shrugged. Then, with another glance to Laxus, Evergreen answered, "I'm pregnant, so I can't." She doubted one drink of cider would do absolutely anything, but to be on the safe side…

Bickslow could only stare at the woman in stunned silence as his own partner squealed and crawled around the coffee table to throw her arms around the other.

"Really?!" Lucy asked excitedly, and Evergreen couldn't help but giggle and squeal along with her. "When did this happen?! How far along are you?"

"Ten weeks last Thursday!"

Lucy leant forward once again to wrap her arms around her friend and squeeze her in the hug. She was paying too much attention to the mother-to-be to notice the small smirk on Laxus's face. "Gosh, Ever, this is wonderful! I'm so excited for you!" she gushed. Lucy was already putting two and two together and realising that the sudden interest in actually getting married was because she was pregnant, but it didn't really matter. There was still a couple of months at the very least before the wedding, and even if Evergreen was showing by then, Lucy didn't think it would be the end of the world.

It took until Lucy had returned to her side of the coffee table after hugging Laxus as well for Bickslow to come out of his daze. It was not the news he'd been expecting to hear in the slightest. Even with the two of them having been together for long enough that he couldn't really imagine them not being together (even _with_ their constant disagreements, but they'd still been like that when they'd been just friends), Bickslow had never really thought about the two of them having a _family_ together.

It was kind of a weird thought knowing that two of his best friends were having a baby together. But as weird as it was, Bickslow couldn't deny that he was excited for them. He couldn't really think of two better people to be parents – even if one of those people was Laxus, since the guy couldn't even take care of himself sometimes. He was a bit of a hopeless cause like that.

It still took Bickslow a few moments to get the words out of his mouth, but then he was rushing over to his friend still sitting on the floor and throwing his arms around her just like Lucy had done earlier. "That's amazing, Ever. I'm so fucking happy for you," he said, a wide grin setting on his face as he quickly kissed his best friend's cheek. "Can't think of anyone else I could be happier for right now."

"Thanks, Bicks," Evergreen replied.

Behind them, the father-to-be was pouting and looking to each of them with a scowl. "What about me?" he complained. "Why is no one congratulating me?"

Bickslow arched an eyebrow at the man. "What? You really want to be congratulated on cu—"

"Congratulations to you too, Laxus," Lucy cut in over the top of her boyfriend. "You should know that it goes without saying, though. We're happy for you both of you."

"Well, thanks," Laxus grumbled. Because really, there would be no reason to congratulate Evergreen without him. Was it too much to ask for a simple 'good job' or something? Apparently. He was rather proud, if he had to be honest, and he was also pretty excited – maybe more so than his fiancée was – but he wasn't going to let that show. "Now are you going to bring me a drink or am I going to have to raid your fridge myself?"

Bickslow simply rolled his eyes before getting up to head for the kitchen once again. "I'll get it." He didn't trust Laxus in the kitchen, not after the time he decided to devour an entire loaf of bread in the form of ham and mustard sandwiches.

* * *

Finally having stuck the landing on his new high bar routine enough times in a row to be reasonably confident with it for the day, Bickslow exhaled and walked off the mats to where his coach was waiting.

"Nice job today, Bicks." The older man patted him on the back while praising his performance. "That double kovac was looking good earlier."

"Yeah, thanks," Bickslow replied as he pulled off his grips. "Felt good, too."

"Keep that up and it might be viable for the games again," his coach said.

Bickslow grimaced but nodded in agreement. "Yeah, maybe…" he mumbled.

"I'll see you tomorrow. Now go cool down – you too, Gajeel."

Bickslow sighed as he finally sat down on one of the benches along the gym wall, mumbling a 'yes, coach' under his breath as he did so. Beside him, his fellow gymnast snickered and Bickslow simply looked to the man from the corner of his vision as he lifted his water bottle up to his lips and took a drink.

Gajeel put his own bottle down beside him before he said, "Take it you're worryin' about puttin' the kovac in?"

"A little," Bickslow sighed. "Can you blame me though?" He wasn't sure why he shouldn't be worrying, considering what had happened the last time he'd had it in his routine. It had been at the Grand Games, nearly four years earlier and in the finals, and he hadn't even had a chance to finish his routine. He'd messed up the release – too much momentum going into it, missed the bar again after the somersaults, and landed on the crash mats half way through his routine.

Bickslow knew it had really been his own fault that he'd messed it up and missed his chance of placing above fourth (and certainly not in _ninth_ ). His grip had been off before he'd even gone for the release; he hadn't had his arms and shoulders in position correctly, and he'd ended his first time at the Grand Games with a dislocated shoulder, a lost skill, and a whole lot of embarrassment.

It had taken him eleven months to even be confident enough to try the double kovac again after that, and even longer to consider working it into some sort of routine. But since that day, Bickslow had never attempted it in any kind of national event – not once. Now though, with the Grand Games coming up once again, he was sure as hell going to try his best not to fuck it up again. He'd already decided that he wasn't going to compete at that level after he turned thirty – or at least that was what his doctor had told him when he'd ended up tearing one of the tendons in his shoulder and had needed to get surgery on it two years prior, and had been forced to take six months off just to heal and go to rehab. But at twenty-eight already, Bickslow knew he was running out of time to achieve his final goal, and ultimately, if he didn't get that medal in the upcoming competition, then he wouldn't get it at all. The next time the Grand Games were held would be when he was thirty-two, and there was just no way he could wait that long. His body just wouldn't be able to handle another four years of that kind of training, and even if he didn't succeed and win that gold medal for high bar in the upcoming year, Bickslow still wouldn't push himself to continue.

Besides… He'd always known than gymnastics wasn't something he could do forever – not really, at least. It had been his life for the last twenty years, and Bickslow was well aware that the time to give it up was drawing closer.

With a sigh, Gajeel stood and reached down to clasp Bickslow's shoulder in a somewhat reassuring manner. Anyone who knew Gajeel knew that he wasn't very good at being supportive or reassuring or anything close to it. But, well… He was working on it. And Bickslow had known him long enough to know not to fucking make fun of him when he ended up saying or doing the opposite of what was considered helpful. Strangely enough, their coach hadn't been too happy when he'd given Bickslow a black eye.

"Look, Bicks, you're a genius when it comes to gym and everyone knows it," Gajeel said. "If you're worried 'bout puttin' it in, then don't. Don't bother tryin' to do something you ain't comfortable with. You're just bound to fuck it up then. But dude, everyone fucks up once in a while. I'm pretty fuckin' sure there's not a single gymnast on this earth that hasn't stacked it at a competition at least once."

"I… I suppose so…" Bickslow mumbled.

"But seriously, if you don't think you can do it, don't put it in." Gajeel shrugged as he picked up his duffle bag from beneath the chair he'd been sitting on, swinging the strap over his shoulder. "Simple, really," he added. "But for the record, you make that shit look easy as hell. If I were you, I'd be getting the fuck over what happened last time and just putting it in anyway. You can do that shit with your eyes closed now and you know it."

Bickslow nodded. Gajeel was pretty much right. He could do it with his eyes closed, it had become that easy and natural for him – much like everything else. All he was worried about was fucking up again. But he still had months before the first of the qualifying rounds for the finals started. That was plenty of time to get everything perfect and get his confidence up again.

It was only then that Bickslow noticed that Gajeel was dressed and ready to leave. He'd finished his own training regimen for the afternoon not long before Bickslow had, so Bickslow had just assumed he'd been resting for a little while before they started their cool down routine – they usually did that together because of when their training ended. But Gajeel was ready to go, much to Bickslow's surprise. "Wait… Are you leaving already?"

"Yeah, gotta run," Gajeel sighed. He took another drink from his water bottle before dropping it into the open flap of his bag. "Got an appointment with the OB and Juvs wants me to go with her."

Bickslow raised an eyebrow at his fellow gymnast. "An OB? You mean Juvia's knocked up?" _When the hell had that happened?_

"Nope."

"Then…"

"We're adoptin'. Well, sorta," Gajeel said, shrugging. "Juvs can't get pregnant. We were gonna use a surrogate instead, but then this sixteen year old or some shit came into Juvia's work a while back and…" He shook his head and sighed again softly before continuing, "Juvs just decided she wanted to do the 'right thing' or some crap like that and adopt instead."

"Hey, well there's nothing wrong with adopting." Bickslow would know, too – he was adopted, and he loved his parents to pieces. Unfortunately for Bickslow, he had the pleasure of remembering his birth parents – or at least his birth mother. They hadn't exactly been very nice people…

But his adoptive parents were the greatest people on the planet, as far as Bickslow was concerned. He'd only known them since he was eight – it had been two weeks after his eighth birthday that he'd been adopted. But in the two, nearly three years that passed since his mother had left one night when he'd been five, where Bickslow had gone from his aunt's house to the orphanage and then been bounced around foster homes all over the country, his favourite place of all the ones he'd been to in those few years would always be with his third foster family – because they eventually became his parents, and they'd been the only ones to ever actually care about him in that time and make him feel welcome. He'd stayed in houses more crammed than an orphanage, but the Kovich house…

That had always been a home to Bickslow.

So when it came to adoption, Bickslow was really all for it. Of course, he could see the appeal in having kids that were _really_ your own, and actually being able to see part of yourself in them, but adoption special to him, and he was really glad that Gajeel and Juvia were going to adopt a baby. Personally though, Bickslow wasn't sure whether it was something he and Lucy would ever do – the kids conversation wasn't one they'd really had. They'd only recently just seriously talked about whether or not they wanted to get married; Bickslow had been trying his best to avoid telling her that he honestly saw no reason to ever get married since Lucy had moved in not quite a year into their relationship. He loved the hell out of her, but he really just had zero interest in marrying her. Thankfully though, Lucy had understood, so as far as they were both concerned, there would be no exchanging of vows in their future. But that was fine.

Still… Kids were different to marriage, and Bickslow would readily admit he wasn't ready for that. Besides, he had dogs, and his dogs were basically his children anyway. That was more than enough for him with his training schedule.

"Yeah, I know…" Gajeel grumbled.

Bickslow arched an eyebrow at the man as he began to stretch his arm across his chest. "What? I take it you were against the idea of adopting a kid instead?" he asked.

"Hell no," he answered. Anyone who knew him knew that he wasn't fond of sharing much, but with Bickslow… Well, the guy didn't run his mouth off to everyone straight after so it was okay. Besides, he'd known the guy since they'd both been teenagers so he trusted him… for the most part. So scowling, Gajeel admitted, "The kid's mother is barely seventeen. She's still a kid herself. And she's stayin' with us now, just 'cause Juvia wanted to make sure she was there if anything happened and all."

"That's fair enough."

"But, y'know, she spends forty fuckin' minutes trying to decide on an outfit most of the time. Makes me question whether or not she's really gonna give the kid up when he's born and all, since she's always changing her mind…" Gajeel said. "And her dumbass boyfriend ain't making the whole thing any easier, either. Spends half his fuckin' time there, rubbin' her belly and shit and talking to the baby… Keeps telling her to keep it and he'll support her and all. The guy can barely afford to keep his car running, like he can afford to raise a child."

"Ouch…" Bickslow mumbled. He could see how that would be frustrating.

Running his hands down his face quickly, Gajeel sighed and continued, "It'll just kill Juvs is she changes her mind though. She's already so goddamn excited, since the kid is due in like another month and a half…"

"That's gotta suck dude… But you know, I guess you've just gotta stay positive," Bickslow said. "That shit sucks when it happens, but… Sometimes you just can't stop it. All you can do is hope it doesn't happen to you, I guess."

"Yeah, I know…" Gajeel checked his phone in the pocket of his gym shorts quickly before sighing once again, now beginning to step backwards and away from Bickslow. "But yeah, gotta skip the cool down today. Juvs'll kill me if I'm late picking her and Miki up for her appointment."

Bickslow nodded. "No worries, man. I'll tell Coach you had an appointment if he asks where you went, too." Considering it was the first time he'd heard about the whole adoption thing, and that he knew how private Gajeel was most of the time, Bickslow figured their coach didn't know about him and his wife trying to adopt. Besides, their coach wouldn't have reminded Gajeel to go about cooling down after his training if he'd known he had to leave straight away anyway.

So once Gajeel had left and the coach swung back around a few minutes later to check on them, Bickslow told him the half truth like he'd promised. And after that, Bickslow only went about fishing his phone and headphones out of his own training bag to slip them into his ears to drown out the rest of the noise while he started his own cooling down routine, starting with a slow jog around the entire gym.

* * *

Perhaps it was because they both had the travel occasionally for their work that their relationship worked as well as it did – or at least that was what Lucy liked to think, since she was still a little gobsmacked herself by the fact she'd ended up with an elite gymnast with four dogs (well, at the time) of all people. Bickslow was quite literally the opposite of practically every single guy her best friends had tried setting her up with.

In reality they didn't get to spend that much time together. Not like a normal couple, at least. Bickslow was either busy with training when Lucy was home, and if Bickslow had some time off between training with no major competitions coming up, Lucy was often having to drive or even fly somewhere out of town just to make sure an author got all of his chapters into the publisher's office by his deadline. But all of that was okay. It was the sole reason for why they'd spent so many late nights together over the years, and they'd always been fun.

Lately though, it had been Bickslow doing all the travelling, with all of the qualifying rounds for the Grand Games that was being held at the end of the year, so it was usually Lucy waiting up in bed with the dogs for him to get home at the end of the night. The only difference that night was that it was still early enough that Lucy hadn't headed to bed yet, and was just sitting up on the lounge in her pyjamas and with her damp hair tied in a braid across the front of her shoulder to keep it out of her way as it dried. The dogs still outside in the backyard heard Bickslow get home before Lucy did and started whining at the door as they usually did, so by the time Bickslow made it inside and just dropped his training bag by the entrance to their lounge room, Lucy was already looking at him and welcoming him home with a soft smile.

"Hey, handsome," she said softly as he walked over to the lounge.

Bickslow sighed as he flopped down onto the sofa beside Lucy, only wincing slightly as he did so. "I don't _feel_ so handsome," he mumbled.

"You're always handsome to me," Lucy giggled in response, and then sighed quietly as she turned herself on the sofa to sit sideways and watch her tired partner in silence for a few moments. That's what it was usually like when Bickslow got back from training at the end of the day. He'd always be tired and would just want to sit and relax for a few moments. Most of the time the dogs would be climbing all over him and suffocating him since they all got rather excited when one of them got home, but they were all outside eating their dinner so they were too busy to jump all over their favourite human.

But it was because Lucy knew what it was usually like when Bickslow got home that was.

"Your shoulder is hurting again, isn't it?" she said softly.

Bickslow gave a small nod. "Yeah, a little," he sighed.

"How about you go take a warm shower then?" Lucy suggested. She knew the warm water helped relax his muscles after a long day of training, and when his shoulder was hurting, the hot water tended to help more than an ice-pack. "And while you're doing that, I can order some take-out, if you want."

"That sounds good." Usually he made a point of sticking to a balanced and healthy diet, only occasionally treating himself to the odd drink (or five) or having something that was so full of sugar that he'd probably not sleep for a week after eating it, but it wasn't one of his cheat days; they'd had pizzas and burgers on the weekend while binge-watching the newest season of _Keeping up with the Redfarrows_. That being said… Bickslow was seriously craving some super spicy beef curry. His diet could be damned for one more day. "As long as it's Midinese. I could _really_ go for some beef curry right now."

"Midinese it is then." After Bickslow pulled himself up, she rose to her feet and headed for the console table just next to the kitchen archway, and picked up the stack of take-out menus they kept in one of the drawers. "I was thinking of trying the honey chilli cauliflower too," she added over her shoulder. "What do you think?"

Bickslow waved his hand dismissively as he disappeared into the hallway. "Whatever you want, babe." He really didn't care what she ordered, as long as he got his curry. Although, he wouldn't say no to the special fried rice if she happened to order that as well…

By the time Bickslow was trudging back down the hall and into the lounge room, hair dripping wet and almost obscuring his vision enough to actually care, Lucy was just walking back in the front door after going out to pick up their dinner. Setting the two large bags down on the coffee table in front of her live-in boyfriend along with her keys, Lucy said, "Alright, I'm just going to go have a quick shower and get my jammies on." She ducked into the kitchen then to fetch some plates and cutlery (she couldn't use chopsticks to save her life), and then returned to the lounge to set them down next to the food. "You better leave me some, by the way."

"Yeah, yeah, fine," Bickslow mumbled. He couldn't make any promises though…

Thankfully, Lucy really did mean a quick shower, and she was back within ten minutes and then taking her seat in the centre of the lounge with her feet tucked under her, right behind where Bickslow was seated on the floor. He'd already dished her plate up, giving her a little of everything like he knew she always liked. "Thank you, darling," Lucy giggled as she gratefully took the plate. She'd been about to scoop up some of the special rice when she paused and looked behind her to where the kitchen and the door to the backyard were. "Oh… I forgot to let the dogs in before I sat down."

Bickslow shook his head before mumbling around a mouthful of food, "They'll be fine out there for a little bit longer." They slept inside most nights, but when it was dinner time and they weren't eating at the table, the dogs stayed outside. It was hard to eat sometimes when he had a great dane sitting next to him and all but drooling on his food…

Lucy balanced her plate on her knee to eat with one hand while she reached for Bickslow's shoulder with her other hand to begin gently working her fingers into the muscles and relieve the aches there. "How was training today?" she asked.

He sighed as he leant back against the base of the lounge and let his girlfriend's magic fingers do their work – it was times like those that Bickslow was appreciative of all those late nights that Lucy had spent doing bookwork and study for her six-month massage therapy course, the one she'd only done for his benefit anyway. "It was good," Bickslow said. "Tiring, and painful, but good. Kovacs are apparently looking good again."

"Is it going to be in your routine for the games?"

He shrugged. "Maybe. Probably. Depends on how I go over the next couple of months…"

"Well, if it's any consolation," Lucy began, picking up a piece of the cauliflower with her fork, "You always made them look so easy. I think you'll be able to do it."

Bickslow smiled as he tilted his head back into his girlfriend's lap. "Thanks, Cosplayer. This is why I love you."

She leant down just to quickly press a kiss to his lips, upside down, and giggled quietly as she said, "No, you love me because I look after your fur-babies and cuddle with you."

"Well, that's true as well." He really did love her cuddles, though. It was part of the reason he'd asked her to move in after they'd been dating for only eight months. And after living together for five years, Bickslow very much enjoyed the promise of cuddles most nights. He'd probably never get sick of that. Her _cooking_ , however… Well, it didn't make him sick anymore, so that was an improvement. "How was your day though?"

"Eventful," Lucy sighed. "Natsu punched a client, Erza punched Natsu, Gray walked into the office in his boxers again, and Wendy… Wendy ran off crying saying she quit."

"…Do I even want to know why Natsu punched someone?"

"The guy was being a jerk. He kind of deserved it, to be honest," she mumbled. Of course though, he'd been escorted out of the building by security and was probably going to be fired, but it had still been somewhat satisfactory to see. "Erza is being reprimanded as well, of course… I feel sorry for her, though."

"How come?" Bickslow reached for the T.V. remote to press the mute button so they could carry on without distractions – it was only the news, anyway, and Bickslow didn't really care for that. "I mean, you shouldn't really feel sorry for her when it's her own fault she's being reprimanded."

"I know that. It's just a bad time, because they have a baby on the way now and it'll really suck if Erza loses her job over it…"

"A baby? Are they adopting or something?"

"Surrogate," Lucy answered. "She's due in a couple of months, apparently."

"Huh… Well, good for them, I suppose. Seems like everyone is having kids all of a sudden though…" he mumbled. "You know Gajeel and Juvia are as well?"

Lucy's face lit up and she momentarily forgot about the shoulder massage she was supposed to be giving him. "Really?! I didn't know Juvia was pregnant!" She liked to think Juvia would've told her by then if she really was, just because the woman was one of her closest friends and Lucy had known her almost as long as she'd been with Bickslow. But, things had been busy over the last few months, so they hadn't talked as much as Lucy would've liked.

"She's not," Bickslow said around a mouthful of food. "They're adopting. They have the kid's mother staying at their house at the moment, too. Gajeel was complaining about her today."

"Oh… I see…" she mumbled. "Well, I hope everything works out with her. The, uh, mother, I guess. I'd feel so sorry for Juvia and Gajeel if she decided to keep the baby… That would devastate them…"

"Yeah, I know." There was just wasn't anything anyone could do about it. They just had to hope for the best for the couple. "Seems everyone's getting knocked up and having kids all of a sudden, though…" he commented before picking up another forkful of food.

Lucy huffed a laugh. "I guess so." Pretty much all of their closest friends had announced they were expecting some way or another in the last half a year. It was rather amusing, now that she thought about it. Lucy was suddenly beginning to feel like she was the only one who _wasn't_ pregnant – not that she minded, of course. "There must be something in the air," she giggled. "You better watch out, I might be next, Bicks."

His entire body stiffened, eyes going wide, and it only had Lucy laughing even harder. Oh, how fun it was to tease her boyfriend…

* * *

It was one of Bickslow's rare afternoons off that Lucy had dragged him out shopping – although it wasn't like he hadn't wanted to go, because with how little time he got to spend with her with his training schedule and her work schedule, he was pretty much up for anything as long as it meant they'd be together, including visiting her gynaecologist with her. But the dragged part was really just because he was exhausted. But for Lucy, he'd get his tired ass out of bed to go shopping.

Still, when Lucy had said she had some shopping to do, Bickslow had thought she meant grocery shopping, or maybe just random shopping for herself for the sake of it (she could never resist a shoe sale). But nope, apparently she'd meant baby shopping. Because she had _five_ baby showers to attend over three weekends, and apparently you were supposed to brings gifts or something. Bickslow wasn't really sure.

And for the most part, Bickslow had had no problems being dragged along baby shopping. But then one of the clerks had asked them all kinds of invasive questions (' _Is this your first?' and 'How far along are you?' or 'Oh, you don't look very far along. When's the baby due?'_ ). And while Lucy had just been able to laugh it off, explaining that she was just picking up some things for her friends who were expecting, Bickslow had just cringed and fought the urge to run back out the doors.

Did they _look_ like they were ready for kids? Because Bickslow sure as hell hadn't thought so. Although by the time the shopping cart Lucy had brought in was almost full to the brim with baby things, Bickslow was seriously questioning his relationship with the woman. Or more accurately, he was questioning what stage they were in. Because he was almost convinced Lucy was buying a lot more than just baby shower gifts.

"Ooooh, look at these, Bickslow!" Lucy beamed at the tall man trailing behind her, failing to notice just how uncomfortable he was. "Look how cute they are!" She was holding up a koala onesie, complete with fluffy ears and matching booties.

Bickslow had never seen something so horrendous. "Uh…."

She put the koala onesie back on the rack and then held up a pair of tiny socks. "Oh, and these! Aww, they're so small! Look how small they are!" she cooed. Bickslow swore he could see actual tears forming in her eyes as she admired the small socks. "They so cute…" Lucy murmured. "Such tiny feet…"

"Well, babies _are_ tiny…" he mumbled.

"I know… But then they grow up to be _not_ so tiny," Lucy sighed, setting the socks back down and continuing to browse the rest of the rack. "Why can't babies stay tiny forever, Bickslow? They're so cute when they're small!"

"I imagine they're cute when they grow up too, you know…"

"Well, yeah, but—"

He rolled his eyes, finishing for her, "They're cuter when they're tiny. I know."

"See? You get it!"

Bickslow wouldn't exactly say he got it. It was more of a case he got what Lucy was sounding like a broken record about. And honestly, that was beginning to terrify him. Granted, his girlfriend's sudden interest in all things baby related was most definitely related to how many of her friends were all expecting children. But Bickslow couldn't help but wonder if that was _all_ it was.

Basically, he was only wondering if Lucy was the one who wanted a baby. Because he figured that was something that made sense. Everyone else was having a kid, so maybe Lucy was feeling a little _left out_. Really, Bickslow had no idea. But to him, it still sounded like Lucy was beginning to reach the point where _she_ was ready to have a kid, too.

He wasn't going to actually talk to her about it just yet though. Oh no. For the most part, he didn't actually know what he was supposed to say. For the time being, Bickslow decided it was best he just leave his girlfriend be and focus on his training. They could talk about having horrible spawn after the Grand Games in August.

* * *

The games were finally just a couple of weeks away. Bickslow had competed in all of the trials and unsurprisingly made it onto the Grand Games team, and then it just became a matter of getting in as much practice as he could without burning himself out and hurting himself in the process.

It was one of the last nights Bickslow had at home before he had to fly halfway across the world along with the rest of his team and his coaches to settle into the game village and get in some last minute training in one of the gyms there. He knew from experience how horrible the athlete housing was, so he was sure as hell enjoying the time he had left. Five dogs piling on top of him every night sure as hell made his bed a whole lot warmer, and a girlfriend to squish in the middle of the night was always nice, too, even if said girlfriend always ended up with all the blankets, pillows, and dogs at some point. Bickslow couldn't get that at the athlete village.

No, he had to share a room with fucking Gajeel, who was going to be on the phone to his wife every five minutes and asking how the baby was (since the adoption for their live-in teenager's baby had actually gone through just a few days earlier, much to everyone's delight, of course). Granted, it could be worse, but still… The guy was going to be annoying as all hell. Bickslow knew it.

What the athlete village was also lacking, though, were naked masseurs. Or maybe they did, Bickslow didn't know. But his bedroom, however, did have one. One he liked very much. But even if his girlfriend did happen to be naked right then, except for the towel she'd wrapped around herself at least, Bickslow really only cared about her hands and her fingers that were once again working some kind of actual magic on his shoulders and his back.

"Are you sure you can't get time off work to come with me?" he murmured into the pillow, stretching his arms out until his fingertips touched the headboard before he crossed his arms under the pillow again. "I mean, if I get a big enough suitcase, you could probably just curl up in there."

"I'm not going to hide in a suitcase, Bicks," Lucy giggled. "And you know I can't take time off. No one would be here to look after the fur babies if I went anyway." It wasn't like they could just get one of their friends to look after them for a week or so, because there were five of them. They were a lot to handle. And they couldn't leave them at the kennels either, because that place was a damn fortune.

Naturally, Lucy would love to actually go with Bickslow to watch him compete, but she just couldn't. She'd just have to settle for watching him on T.V. like everyone else, and pray that some station actually aired the men's gymnastics when he was competing. She'd missed it the last time around. Apparently the synchronised swimming finals had been more important.

"Good point..." Bickslow mumbled. But Lucy having to stay home to look after the dogs did remind him of something else he'd been meaning to talk to her about… And Bickslow didn't think there was a better time to do it. "But, uh… Hey, so I was thinking…" he began quietly.

"Mm-hmm…"

"…Of maybe retiring after the games," he said.

Lucy's hands froze on Bickslow's shoulders. "What? Like… _retire_ retire? For good? Or just from competitions?"

"I don't know… For good, I guess."

He'd been thinking about it a lot since he'd hurt his shoulder. Bickslow had always known that he wasn't going to be able to do gymnastics forever, and that had always been fine. The only reason he'd ever gone as far as he had, won more trophies and medals than he could even display in his house, and competed all around the world, was because he'd been given the opportunity to when he'd still been a teenager. And at nearly twenty-nine, and after spending the last twenty years of his life putting everything he had into the sport, Bickslow could honestly say that he'd made the best of the opportunity that had been given to him.

Some things just couldn't last forever, and Bickslow was okay with that. He was the second oldest on his gymnastics team as it was (second only to Gajeel by all of eight months). Everyone else he competed against was still eighteen, nineteen years old. Occasionally, there was even the odd sixteen year old. But even without his age slowly becoming a factor, there was still his shoulder to worry about it. If he injured himself again, then that would definitely spell the end of his career. And Bickslow really didn't want to go through that pain again. If he was going to go out, he wanted to do it on his own terms, not because he had no other choice but to retire.

Lucy was just a little stunned though. She had to admit that the timing of it did make a little sense, since from what she'd learnt in the last few years with Bickslow was that most professional athletes seemed to time their retirement announcements for just after the big events, but for the most part, Lucy had just assumed it'd be a few more years before Bickslow wanted to leave the sport behind.

"I take it you've thought about this then?" Lucy asked, beginning to move her hands along Bickslow's shoulders and down his back again.

"Not a lot, but… Yeah, I have."

"I see…" she murmured. "Well, um… Why do want to retire all of a sudden? Or, well, I guess it's not all of a sudden if you've been thinking about it…"

Bickslow sighed into the pillow before answering, "Just kind of feels like it's time to." That was pretty much the gist of it. "I mean, I'm not getting any younger… You know the oldest person to compete at the games was forty-one? She went seven times."

"Sheesh, good job to her…"

"Yeah. But, I don't want to be doing this for another twelve years." Bickslow hated that idea. The thought of having to keep practicing almost all day, almost every single day of the year for the next twelve years just made every single muscle in his body hurt. "And if I hurt my shoulder again, then I'm definitely done for," he added. "It's already getting worse as it is."

"I guess that's a good point," Lucy mumbled.

"Plus…" That time, Bickslow shifted a little uncomfortably, and turned his head to bury his face in the pillow just a little bit more to mumble, "If I'm not training or competing anymore, we could probably have a kid or something…"

"W-What?" Lucy squeaked. "Did you just… Did you just say have a _kid_?"

Bickslow shrugged as best he could, and Lucy finally rolled herself off where she'd been sitting on him for the better part of the last thirty minutes. That part, Bickslow had been trying not to think about. But with all the baby showers and just all of the babies in general, it had been pretty hard to Bickslow to just ignore it at all. Especially when one of the take-home favours that Lucy had been given from one baby shower was a damn personalised candle that was sitting on the bathroom bench. Admittedly, it smelled amazing, but the whole _'Yukino's Baby Shower'_ with the date and a little drawing of a pram on the side of the jar kind of ruined it.

Lucy laid down next to Bickslow instead, keeping the towel wrapped around her and propping her head up with the side of her face resting in her palm. "Uh… Are you trying to tell me you want a kid?" she asked.

"W-Well, _I_ don't want one…" Bickslow mumbled sheepishly. He avoided meeting her gaze. "I just thought _you_ were wanting to have one."

Lucy couldn't help but giggle as she shook her head. "What on earth made you think that I wanted to have a kid?"

"You know… Everyone else we know is having them… And… And then there was that time I went with you to buy baby shower gifts and you just kept going on about how cute the onesies and the shoes were!"

"Because they're so tiny! And they're just so little and so cute… Especially their feet! Such little feetsies!"

"See!?"

Lucy rolled her eyes and leant forward to press a quick and gentle kiss to what ended up being the side of Bickslow's mouth. "I think babies are cute. It doesn't mean I _want_ one," she said. She was allowed to like cute things. But really, baby clothes were just too damn adorable and she had no choice but to gush over them. She had a weakness for baby socks though, that much she knew. "Besides, do you really think _now_ would be the best time to be having a kid anyway? I mean, we already have _five_ of them." Her family was big enough as it was, thank you very much. Granted, all of her children were of the four-legged and furry kind, but that was more than good enough.

Bickslow could only groan into his pillow. "Thank fucking god," he mumbled, and Lucy only laughed quietly to herself again as she shuffled closer to cuddle his side. Bickslow was more than relieved to be hearing that she didn't want to have a kid right then. He supposed she would at some point, but for the time being, she was happy being mother only to their fur-babies.

Now the only thing Bickslow had to worry about was his girlfriend's random obsession with baby clothes and baby feet…

"Now… Back to you retiring…" Lucy said then. She paused for a moment before softly asking, "Are you sure that's what you want to do?" Lucy doubted that Bickslow thinking she wanted to have a kid was one of the main reasons behind his decision to retire. She suspected it was a small factor, but nothing more. His other two reasons, however… Well, those made sense.

Bickslow sighed. "I think so, yeah."

"Any thoughts on what you'll do after?"

"Probably just take some time off and do nothing for a little while, I guess." It had been so long since he'd been able to take a break for more than a couple of weeks. He wanted to travel somewhere and be able to actually see everything there was to see without having to go off to training with a new coach barely an hour after he'd even checked into a hotel. He wanted to marathon all the fucking _Star Wars_ and _The Lord of the Rings_ movies back to back, while sitting in his pyjamas and eating as much junk food as he possibly could (and _not_ have to share any of it with his dogs).

"You deserve that," Lucy said. "But after that?"

He shrugged into the pillow again. "I don't know. Just get a job somewhere. Maybe become a coach or something." There wasn't really anything he was qualified to do at that point.

Lucy sighed as she sat up slightly. "Well, whatever you decide, you know I'll support you," she said softly. "If you think retiring after these games is the right move, then I'll be behind you on it one-hundred percent. Just do what you think is best, Bicks. I'll be here either way."

"I know," Bickslow murmured. "Thanks, Lucy."

"You are very welcome." She pulled herself up completely and climbed back over Bickslow to get to the closest edge of the bed. "Now come on, it's getting late. Put some clothes on so I can let the dogs back in," she said, dropping her hand before she stood to slap her boyfriend's naked ass.

She considered it payback for all the times he'd done it to her.

* * *

Bickslow eventually managed to win his gold medal at the games that year. The silver medallist had been less than a whole point below him, but Bickslow hadn't really cared much. All that had mattered was that he'd placed first.

He went on to announce his retirement not long after the games finished as well, just like he'd planned. It hadn't really been a surprise to anyone, but it had still ended up being an almost bittersweet moment for him.

The first thing Bickslow ended up doing after officially retiring was take his dogs to the beach. He'd ended up taking Lucy as well, naturally, and even a few of their friends had tagged along and it had ended up being a little celebration of sorts. Just a few weeks after he'd retired, he'd even jetted off to some tropical island. It had only been for a week, but it had been a week where he'd been able to drink as much as he wanted, and for the most part, Bickslow remembered nothing but the plane ride there. That had been his intention, though.

Eventually though, things settled down. Lucy went back to work, his former national team went back to training on a strict schedule, and Bickslow started looking for a job. He did end up becoming a coach, though. Not for the professionals, of course, but for kids. He'd found a cosy little gym program not too far from his house, and the owner had been all too fond of the idea of hiring a former pro-gymnast and gold medallist as a coach. It had taken a little getting used to, for Bickslow to go from training on average eight hours a day, to teaching eight-year-old girls how to do cartwheels for their basic floor routines and then catch them when they missed the high bar of the uneven bars… But it hadn't taken Bickslow very long to realise that he'd loved doing it. He'd been able to remember how much fun he'd had learning it all when he'd been their age. He'd remembered what it had felt like when gymnastics had been just a hobby and not just a career, and it had been a great feeling for Bickslow.

But then, after a few more years, when all of their friends seemed to be announcing their _second_ pregnancies all around the same time, that Lucy started leaving little _hints_ for Bickslow to figure out the meaning of on his own – because she'd certainly had no intentions of telling her boyfriend of then nearly nine years that she wanted a two-legged and _human_ baby.

So it had started with the walks to the park – and not the dog park, but the _playground_ park where there were all kinds of little monsters running around screaming. And then it had been the giant bag of fortune cookies that Lucy insisted on opening each day and showing him – and Bickslow lost count of how many times he had to read the words: _'a short stranger will soon enter your life with blessings to share.'_ But then it had been the damn dog booties. Where Lucy had gotten them from, Bickslow had no idea, but he'd admittedly gotten a kick out of watching his dogs attempt to walk around on hardwood floors with little socks on – at least for a little while.

But if Bickslow hadn't figured Lucy's message out from all of those (he had, and rather quickly, too), then he definitely would've figured it out when Lucy ended up watching a bit of one of his beginner's gym classes that was pretty much exclusively for toddlers. Bickslow had only pretended to not know who the sobbing and rambling blonde woman was. Because he got it, Lucy thought the little humans were cute, because they had such little feet and tiny hands and they were so uncoordinated that it was almost funny. But he'd been just a _little_ busy at the time, and when Lucy started going on about tiny human feet, he usually just tuned out anyway.

Still, at some point, Lucy did give up with her not-so vague hints, and ended up waking him up one Sunday morning, only to shove tiny little shoes that she'd gone out and bought and told him, _"I want the little feet!"_ Bickslow's first thought was that Lucy had been drunk… But nope. She'd been sober.

So that was how they ended up having their first _human_ child. And Bickslow took great delight in later teaching his daughter all about gymnastics. Although, she ended up being more interested in watching videos of him in competitions online than actually doing any of it herself. But that had been okay.

* * *

 _You can bet this isn't edited. Mostly because I just wanted to get this out of my WIP folder. A lot of the one-shots I have taking up space in there are 75% complete... I've just been too lazy to finish them. That, and I'm bad with endings (hence why I'm stuck on the last chapter of Third Time's the Charm, but that's okay)._

 _Yes, before anyone asks, I needed to write actual gymnast Bickslow. S &S made me really love it, even if it was unintentional. So, yes, gymnast Bickslow. And gymnast Gajeel, too. Don't ask. It works. _

_Anyway... I wanted to just quickly say something about guest reviews in particular. Although the majority are good and nice, there has been more than a few lately that have made me remember why I enabled the option to moderate all the guest reviews. There's a difference between being straight up insulting just for the sake of it, and being helpful with your criticism. So, if you ever feel like being a dick and insulting me/my writing/whatever, then you can guarantee I'm going to just delete it and move straight on. I'm not quite sure what you think it achieves, but whatever. If you really insist on being a jackass, then at least do it on your own account and not be a pussy and do it on guest._

 _As much as I welcome criticism, because good criticism helps you improve, I sure as hell don't tolerate people leaving pointless comments on stories (not just mine, but in general) just to make themselves feel better while simultaneously trying to make someone feel bad about themselves. Grow the fuck up._

 _And now that that is out of the way... I hope you enjoyed! If not, well... Meh. Can't please them all._


	11. To Build a Bridge (T)

_Another story that has been sitting in my WIP folder for close to a year. I'm really just trying my best to get all of them finished in between working on the next S &S chapter and then the BixCo week stories before uni goes back. Anyway, I had a lot of trouble with the ending of this one, which is why I left the last scene half-finished for the last two months, and only just came back to it tonight to finish it off. I just needed it done. Hopefully it's still a somewhat decent story. (And yes, I know, I need to stop being so hard on myself, but it's so difficult sometimes lmao.) I actually posted the summary to this fic along with a whole lot of others in my WIP folder a while ago though. It's on my tumblr somewhere..._

 _ **Summary** : A child is not something you keep from someone you love, and Bickslow learns that the hard way. And when Lucy finds out the wrong way and jumps to the wrong conclusion, everything comes crashing down. And Bickslow is left trying to mend what's left before it's completely over._

 _ **Rating** :_ _T_

* * *

 **To Build a Bridge**

* * *

It was only for so long that Lucy could stare at a sleeping Seith mage before the desire to not be the only one awake right then kicked in. In the five months she'd been with Bickslow, Lucy had quickly grown fond of how he often smiled in his sleep, but how adorable she found it just wasn't enough to stop her from beginning to gently prod the man's forehead in an attempt to wake him up.

Just like Bickslow did every other time Lucy got bored of being the only one awake after they spent the night together, it was just after a few pokes that he slowly began to emerge from his slumber. And as usual, it was with a groan before trying to slowly tug the quilt up over his head to hide.

"Hey, come on…" Lucy whined, of course fighting Bickslow for the quilt. Because really, hiding didn't achieve anything. She would still know he was there and she would of course annoy him.

"Sleeping," Bickslow mumbled into the pillow.

"You've been asleep for ages though." She pouted when the Seith mage managed to get the blanket up over his head, then only proceeded to annoyingly prod him some more over the blanket – his shoulder that time, she figured – to get him to wake up. "Bixy, come on," she whined again. "I'm bored. Play with me."

Bickslow sighed dramatically as he pushed the blanket back down. He really should've expected his girlfriend to not allow him to sleep in as long as he'd really wanted to. She never let him sleep in, even if they didn't even get in until well after midnight. She didn't even care that it was a Sunday and Sundays were reserved for staying in bed all day. Sleeping was just not allowed when his girlfriend was awake.

But he didn't really mind all that much. He'd been dating the Celestial mage long enough that he'd already started getting used to getting less hours per night and having an earlier (much, much earlier) wake-up call when he stayed with Lucy.

So when Lucy stopped poking him for a few seconds, he took the opportunity to quickly roll himself half on top of her and tuck his now giggling girlfriend against him with his arm and one of his legs draped over her. That was just what their mornings were like. She woke him up, and then she got crushed for a little while until he could be bothered getting out of bed. It worked. Lucy had even stopped complaining about it around the three month mark.

"If you're bored, you should sleep," he murmured against her cheek.

"But I don't want to sleep. I already slept, and now I'm awake."

"So I've noticed."

Lucy pulled herself out from under the Seith mage just enough to turn back onto her side and make herself comfortable again. Then, lower limbs sufficiently tangled with her boyfriend's and fingers beginning to thread through the slightly shorter hair at the bottom of his mohawk, she smiled softly as she leaned in just to gently press her lips to Bickslow's, despite the sleepy smirk still on his lips. "So what do you want to do today?" she asked.

"Hmm… Sleep," he answered. He hadn't even opened his eyes yet, and he really didn't plan on doing so until he actually had to get out of bed.

"Bixy, you can't sleep all day."

"Not all day," Bickslow mumbled. No, he wasn't going to sleep all day. "Just… for the rest of the morning." He had to get up eventually anyway because he had somewhere else to be. But for the time being, all Bickslow wanted to do was sleep.

"Well, you don't really have much time left then…" Lucy pointed out. "It's already eleven." And by Lucy's standards, that was incredibly late for her to be waking up, even though she'd actually woken up closer to ten and had just been trying not to fall asleep again from boredom. She just didn't like sleeping so late, even on the weekend. It always just felt like she was wasting the day, and she hated that. She'd rather spend that time sitting on her lounge in her pyjamas and just reading.

Hearing the time though, Bickslow's eyes shot open and he stared at her in shock. "Did you just say it's eleven?"

"Um, yeah…?" But Lucy didn't even get a chance to ask why the fact it was eleven in the morning was so important before Bickslow was pulling himself out of bed as quickly as he could, almost taking the sheets with him too. Lucy only sat up as Bickslow hurriedly pulled on his jeans and then his shirt from the previous night, and then watched as the babies flew out from under the blanket one by one to hover behind their master as usual. "Hey, what's with the sudden rush to get away from me?"

He smiled apologetically over his shoulder at her. "Come on, you know that's not what I'm doing."

"Well, you're still getting dressed, and two minutes ago all you wanted to do was stay in bed for the rest of the day."

"Yeah, well, I just didn't realise the time, and I've, uh… I've gotta go out. Errands and stuff to do… You know."

"You have to go out all of a sudden." Lucy only shrugged as she climbed out of bed and padded over to her kitchen. "Okay then. I'll just see you later then or something." That was fine. Bickslow could do things without her. She wasn't the clingy girlfriend type.

It was just that Lucy couldn't help but find it odd. Even being together for nearly half a year, she still couldn't shake the feeling that there was something Bickslow was keeping from her.

Of course, Bickslow was well aware that his girlfriend wasn't as fine as she was trying so hard to make herself appear right then, and he knew that he wasn't making it any easier by lying to her. But there really wasn't anything else he could do – not right away, at least. He didn't enjoy lying to her, but it wasn't like he'd been able to tell her that he actually had a kid on their first date… Or on their second date, or even on their tenth date. None of those moments had been the right moment.

And even right then, Bickslow couldn't exactly tell Lucy that the reason he suddenly needed to go out was because it was Father's Day and he was supposed to be seeing his son for lunch, and he still needed to get home and shower and get ready. It just wasn't the right time to tell Lucy about his kid. But the longer he put it off, Bickslow couldn't help but think that the right moment would never exist, and that scared him just a tiny bit.

He just smiled softly at Lucy again when he found her in the kitchen. "We'll do dinner later if you want," he proposed, hoping that maybe giving her his entire night instead would make things a little less tense. It wasn't like they spent all that much time together anyway, between jobs and their teams and everything else – like his kid, for example – so when they did actually get time off, spending it with each other was always nice. It was just difficult when most of Bickslow's time off between jobs happened to fall on the weekends, and he always went to go see his son on the weekend… "Or we could go see that play you mentioned last night. What was it?"

"The Winter's Tale…" she mumbled.

"Yeah, that one! I'm sure it'll be on tonight. Do you want me to pick up some tickets while I'm out?"

Lucy shrugged. She didn't even need to point out that she knew that Bickslow was just trying to cheer her up, because Bickslow knew exactly what he was doing and just how aware she was of it too. But, it was okay. He really probably did just have some errands to do that day, and it was a Sunday after all so he didn't have the entire afternoon to do them like he would've on every other day. She was just getting paranoid for no reason.

"I guess so, sure," Lucy mumbled again. She knew how much Bickslow hated plays so she'd stopped trying to take him to them when there was one on she wanted to see, but if he was offering…

"Perfect!" He cleared his throat a little as he stepped back from the counter, then did a mental checklist in his head to make sure he had everything on he'd come with. It wasn't the end of the world if he didn't, since he still had a few things in Lucy's apartment just like she did with his, but it was just easier if he didn't forget anything. But sure he'd gotten everything, Bickslow just awkwardly continued, "Well, uh, I've gotta run… But I'll come find you later this afternoon though?"

She nodded as she kept staring down at her feet. "I'll probably be at the guild."

"I'll come find you in the guild then." And then just quickly ducking down to press a kiss to her forehead, he was promising to see her later and rushing out the door.

* * *

It was a month from Father's Day when Lucy's trust and faith in Bickslow reached almost absolute zero, which was lower than it had ever been in all the years she'd known him – and she hated herself for that. But, as hard as it had even been to accept that somewhere along the way she had lost almost all trust in the man, Lucy had just kept telling herself that they'd get over whatever problems they were seemingly having and things would go back to normal at some point.

She told herself that it was all just to do with not being able to make as much time as they'd like for each other between everything else they did. They were both busy people and they couldn't spend each waking moment with each other, because sometimes, they just had other things to do.

It had just been another day where Bickslow had run off suddenly, claiming he had errands to take care of. It had been right after they'd had breakfast at their favourite little café, too. She'd even offered to go with him, because as boring as Bickslow made grocery shopping and standing in a bank queue seem, she really just liked spending time with him. But of course, Bickslow had just promised to see her later after taking care of their bill, and run off to do his so called errands.

Lucy just couldn't help but think the worst. He was always having to run off somewhere when they did get time together, and when she suggested things for them to do on the weekends when they were both in town, Bickslow just always told her he'd have to see if he could fit in it – or, he'd just cancel it. She was convinced there was something he wasn't telling her, and he hated that feeling.

She just wanted to trust him, but she couldn't for some reason.

But it was that lack of trust she'd come to have in him that had Lucy getting up after Bickslow had just left the café and beginning to follow him. The fact that he was so goddamn tall made it easy, because without his hood and visor, she could see that blue-and-black hair over everyone else's heads.

Lucy hated that she had actually resorted to following her boyfriend just to find out if he was lying to her like she almost suspected. It made her feel sick, because never in a million years had she thought she'd be the kind of girlfriend to do something like that. But at that point, Lucy just didn't think she had any other choice anyway. Bickslow certainly wouldn't tell her what was going on if she asked, not if he was adamant about keeping whatever it was hidden from her, but Lucy just needed to know.

She couldn't keep losing what little trust she had in him, because she was scared as all that it would all be over nothing. She worried that it was all just her paranoia making her feel that way, because it was Bickslow she was dating, and she was just Lucy, and oh, had she had plenty of people let her know just how strange it was that they were together at all. She'd heard them all when they'd said she just wasn't Bickslow's type, but she'd heard Bickslow when he'd told her that she was exactly his type, too, and she'd chosen to listen to Bickslow then. But she'd still always worried that she wasn't really enough.

She just couldn't help but worry that she was letting that particular thought take up too much space in her head for no good reason. In a way, Lucy almost hoped that it was the case, because she'd hated feeling that way the entire time she'd been with Bickslow. But the last thing she wanted was for her lack of esteem in her relationship to be the reason she couldn't trust someone she cared about more than she'd ever had the chance to admit. And Lucy knew that if she ever did lose all of her trust in Bickslow, that it would kill her.

Even if it all proved to be worth it and it ended up that Bickslow really had been lying to her about something, and she'd suspected him of doing so for all the right reasons, it would still kill her.

But she needed to know what was going on, and she couldn't just wait for Bickslow to decide to trust her and tell her what was actually going on, and she couldn't straight up ask him because she just didn't trust him to tell the truth. So that left going behind his back, and it really did hurt her to do so. All she wanted to do was put everything behind her, one way or another. And at that point, Lucy just didn't care if she ended up telling herself that she'd been losing trust in her boyfriend for no reason, or telling herself that she should've listened to her friends who'd only been trying to do what was best for her.

Though by the time she'd followed Bickslow to a quieter part of town and had seen him walking up the steps to a quaint rose coloured home, Lucy had already started to feel the tears prick her eyes. She couldn't for the life of her understand just what kind of errands would have Bickslow going there. Not unless the pretty brunette with the shoulder-length hair that had opened the door to him with a smile was the boring errand he'd been referring to.

* * *

Bickslow was just a little surprised to walk into his apartment later that night just to find his girlfriend sitting quietly on his lounge with her head down. After he'd regrettably had to cut his morning with Lucy short to go to his son's birthday party, all he'd honestly wanted to do was eat something other than ice-cream cake and chips, take a long, relaxing bath with the peppermint and orange bath salts Lucy had raved about, and then collapse in bed. An entire afternoon with a dozen kids hyped up on sugar had only left him with one hell of a headache.

But considering how he'd been treating Lucy over the last couple of months, Bickslow knew he couldn't just tell Lucy that he was too tired to do absolutely anything right then. He just couldn't keep blowing her off, and he certainly wasn't going to just because he had a headache and he was tired.

So he just smiled as he closed and locked his apartment door behind him before dropping his keys down on the table. "I didn't expect to see—O-Oh, shit, Lucy?" Bickslow's train of thought was completely lost when Lucy looked up and he saw how red and puffy her eyes were right then – she'd been crying. And he wanted to know why. He rushed over to kneel down in front of her before softly asking, "Hey, what's wrong? What happened?"

Lucy could only take a shaky breath before she said in a small voice, "Bickslow, I need to ask you something, and I need you to tell me the truth."

After seeing Bickslow walk into the other woman's house, she'd found herself walking around aimlessly and just trying to figure out what she was supposed to do. She'd known that the worst thing she could do was jump to conclusions, but Lucy hadn't been able to stop herself from doing just that and thinking the absolute worst. She just hadn't been able to stop herself from assuming that all of the secrecy and lying was because for all that time, Bickslow had really been seeing someone else.

And if anything, Bickslow having an affair was what she'd been suspected eventually happening all along, even before he'd first started cancelling any of their made plans or claimed to have stupid errands to run. She'd just always had a tiny voice in the back of her head telling her that something like that would happen, because everyone had just told her time and time again that Bickslow really just wasn't good for her, that he just wasn't the boyfriend type and he certainly wasn't the kind of guy who would be able to stick with someone who really had no interest in sleeping with him.

Lucy had never once felt guilty about her decision to wait until she was married to have sex, not until she'd started dating Bickslow.

But she'd just always ignored that tiny voice in the back of her head that everyone else was right and that Bickslow wasn't good for her, and she'd trusted Bickslow when he'd said that there was more to a relationship than sex.

But ignoring that voice and trusting him had only led to her sitting in his apartment in tears and just waiting for him to get back. And the only reason she'd gone there at all was because she'd known walking into the guild in tears and saying that she thought Bickslow was cheating on her was the worst idea she'd ever head, and she just hadn't been able to stop pacing her living room in her own apartment. Bickslow's apartment had just been the only place she'd wanted to be, despite the circumstances.

Except now that Bickslow was in front of her, Lucy almost found herself wishing that she'd stayed in her own apartment. She was scared of what the truth actually was.

And despite being more than a little worried about what it was Lucy had to ask, Bickslow was smart enough to realise that he had no hope of getting out of that conversation. "Of course," he said softly again. "Anything."

Lucy nodded. _There's no backing out now._ "Are you…" She had to take another breath before looking back up again and finally asking, "Are you seeing someone else?"

"Huh?"

"Are you seeing someone else?" Lucy repeated firmly, and then when Bickslow did nothing but stare at her in confusion, she asked instead, "Are you cheating on me?"

It wasn't the way Lucy had asked that confused Bickslow; it was the question itself. He honestly had no clue where it was even coming from, and if anything, he was a little scared of the reason behind Lucy asking him that. "God, Lucy. Why the hell would you ask me that?" he asked just a little irately.

The tears were beginning to fill her eyes again as Bickslow just avoiding answering her question, and she couldn't help but take it negatively. "Just give me a yes or no answer," she pleaded, pulling her hands out of Bickslow's reach and folding them across her chest. "A-Are you or are you not seeing someone else?"

"Fuck, no, of course I'm not, Lucy," Bickslow answered. It was close to the most ridiculous thing he'd ever been asked in his entire life. Granted, Bickslow would admit that his relationship with Lucy was basically his first real relationship he'd had in all twenty-six years of his life, and there were times where he really had no idea what was acceptable and what wasn't (and then planning dates had been one hell of a nightmare when they'd first start dating), but he knew that cheating on her was the kind of thing that was sure as hell not acceptable. He'd never once even thought about doing that to Lucy, just because the idea of hurting someone he loved (well, again) made him want to throw up. And the fact that Lucy even felt like she needed to ask if he was cheating on her just really fucking hurt. "I'd never, _ever_ do that to you. I promise you that I'm not seeing anyone else."

But… Lucy just couldn't believe him. Even if it was a promise. "Then where were you earlier?" she whispered.

"I… I was just taking care of some things."

"Like?"

He swallowed to try and ease the dryness in his mouth. "U-Um, you know… Stuff." Bickslow shrugged. If anything, now would be the time to tell her about his kid, but… He was still just terrified of what would happen, and it still didn't feel like the right time to do so. "Bills. Shopping."

Lucy pursed her lips and stared at the Seith mage before her. She couldn't quite believe that he was sitting there and lying right to her face. She'd always thought he was better than that. But apparently not, as she was quickly realising that day, and already, she was tired of being lied to. "Who's the woman then?" Lucy asked quietly.

"What woman?"

"With the brown hair. The one you went to see today after you left."

Bickslow stood up slowly as the realisation of what Lucy had done dawned on him. "You… You followed me?" he whispered.

She shifted uncomfortably on the lounge. "W-Well, did you really expect me to just let you keep lying to me and treat me like that?"

He would argue that what he'd been doing wasn't exactly lying, but he knew it was an argument not worth having. Because in essence, not telling her about his son had been lying to her, even if it wasn't exactly like he'd said _no_ when Lucy had asked him if he had any children she didn't know about, simply because she had never asked him that. Not telling her where he kept disappearing to, on the other hand… That had always been straight-up lying. And Bickslow hated that he'd done it, but it had just had to be done.

Still… She'd followed him, and that hurt. He'd never thought Lucy would be the person to have so little trust in him that she followed him. He wouldn't do that to her, not if it had been reversed.

"Lucy, it's just… It's complicated, alright?" he argued while beginning to pace what little space was left on the other side of his table. "But damn it, you followed me?! Jesus, Lucy. Do you really trust me that little?"

"Right now, yes, b-because you're still not answering my questions. So please, just tell me who s-she is, and for once, don't lie to me."

Bickslow quickly fell silent when he was reminded of the fact that Lucy had supposedly seen him with his son's mother earlier in the day. For a moment he'd just been distracted by how Lucy had just followed him there in the first place and broken his trust. But now he remembered what was really the problem, and Bickslow already knew that he didn't have a lot of time to come up with a solution to that problem. He knew that the longer it took to give her the truth, the worse it would be, and surprisingly, he didn't want to completely ruin things

As he kept pacing up and down his living room and slowly chipping the polish on his thumb with his teeth, it became obvious to Bickslow that he had no choice but to tell her about his son. He couldn't just put it off and wait for the right time to come around. He had to tell her right then, or not tell her at all.

And strangely, the former was more appealing.

So well aware that Lucy was still watching him, he stopped his silent stalking in his own apartment and then sat down on the lounge just next to her and stared at his hands clasped together between his knees. Bickslow only found himself being not quite sure where to begin, because the only other time he'd told anyone about his spawn, he hadn't just been accused of having an affair or found out that his girlfriend had followed him.

"So, I, uh… I guess when you followed me, you saw me walk into her house?" he asked first.

"I did," Lucy whispered.

Bickslow nodded. He would admit that it probably hadn't looked that great from Lucy's perspective. "The, um… The woman. Her name is Quinn," he began, still just looking down at his hands wringing together nervously in his lap. "I'm not… I'm not sleeping with her or anything like that, I swear it. You can ask the babies if you really don't believe me." The babies were incapable of lying, just because they were souls. They did, however, have a habit of bending the truth… But they never lied. And Lucy knew that.

"Who's Quinn then, Bickslow?"

"Quinn is…" He let out a defeated sigh before finally answering, "Quinn is the mother of my child."

"E-Excuse me?" Lucy wasn't all that sure she'd heard him correctly. "Did you… Did you just say…"

"That I have a kid? Yup…" He nodded slowly once again before quickly glancing up to Lucy to see how she was taking it, although he honestly couldn't tell since she just looked more stunned than anything. "A son, actually."

Lucy just hadn't expected to be hearing that her boyfriend was actually a parent, though. If anything, it was the last thing she'd been expecting to hear, because as far as she was concerned, it was something Bickslow should've been telling her before they'd started dating in the first place.

Lucy knew that he wasn't lying, though. She didn't think there was a person on that planet that was stupid enough to claim they had a kid when they really didn't – but then again, she also hadn't expected anyone to be stupid enough to wait until they'd been in a relationship for half a year to announce they have a child. So even knowing Bickslow was telling her the honest truth right then, Lucy couldn't figure out why she was only now just hearing about it. She only wondered if she'd have found out at all if she hadn't followed him.

But if anything, she only thought that the truth Bickslow had just told her was so much worse than him cheating on her. She almost wished that he'd really been seeing someone else, because it would've made things so much less complicated.

And right then, Lucy just couldn't even begin to really comprehend what was going on there. Just an hour earlier she'd been so damn sure that her boyfriend had been seeing someone else. But now she was just left confused, and she had no clue how she was supposed to even respond to what Bickslow had said just then.

"I… I have to go."

Bickslow rose to his feet as quickly as Lucy did when she suddenly began heading for the door. "Lucy, w-wait." He hadn't quite expected that to be the first thing she said after announcing that he had a son. He'd thought that Lucy would at least want to ask him about the kid, not just storm out the goddamn door. "Come on, don't go—"

Except Lucy had already slammed Bickslow's door behind her and was quickly making her way down the stairs.

* * *

Laxus was just about to lift his mug to his lips when he suddenly had a Seith mage dragging him away from the bar and then through the guild. Freed had made him promise to stop zapping Bickslow so much, and in that moment, Laxus only found himself wishing that the Rune mage's favourite form of punishment for him was a little less uncomfortable. He would've shocked the shit out of Bickslow right then had Freed's punishment been more appealing, but since it wasn't, all Laxus did was pull himself free from Bickslow's grip as soon as he could and shout, "What the hell do you want, Bix?"

Bickslow couldn't help but wince a tiny bit at the harsh voice he'd heard a million times before. Ordinarily he just didn't care when Laxus yelled at him, just because most of the time he was just trying his best to make the guy angry. But right then, after quite possibly having his girlfriend break up with him over the stupidest thing on that planet, Bickslow couldn't really handle being shouted at. "I just… I need to talk to you, alright?" he answered far more softly than Laxus had, and gestured to the doors at the front of the guild he'd been pulling Laxus towards. "Like, right fucking now."

It was only then that Laxus realised something was going on, and he couldn't help but worry and wonder what was wrong to have Bickslow so obviously anxious. It was a rare occurrence for Bickslow to actually let something visibly bother him, because he'd always been the type of person to just go with whatever life happened to throw at him and roll with it like it had always been part of his master plan.

But whatever had happened that Laxus didn't know about had obviously thrown Bickslow, and he really did worry about the guy. But of course, Laxus rarely admitted that he did in fact care about the Raijinshuu – they all knew it anyway so whatever – so all he did was nod before spinning around to head towards the doors Bickslow had been leading him to anyway. "You could've just said so," he muttered. He really probably would've just followed the guy on his own accord had Bickslow just simply asked him to leave so they could talk. He'd been looking for a reason to get away from Strauss siblings and Cana anyway, because try as he might, he was incapable of getting himself away from them on his own once they'd pulled him in.

After rounding up Freed and Evergreen, not even thirty minutes later they were all at the one bar in Magnolia that they could all agree wasn't too fancy _or_ decrepit, and were waiting for Bickslow to actually talk like he'd claimed he wanted to do. It was only after the Seith mage had become friends with the new bartender and had already opened a tab for the night that the three grew tired of waiting to find out what was going on, and so as Bickslow set his empty glass down after finishing off the whiskey in it, Evergreen realised that just waiting for him to talk was just going to take far too.

"So are you actually going to say anything?" Evergreen asked drily. "Or are you just going to keep drinking."

The latter was tempting, but he couldn't do that. Bickslow knew he couldn't just drown his problem, because it would still be there come morning.

His team and Laxus were really the only other ones who knew about his son, and since Lucy had left earlier in the evening, all Bickslow had wanted to do was actually talk. He'd realised that Lucy wouldn't listen to him for at least a little while, and the last thing he'd wanted to do was make things worse. She needed space, and Bickslow was more than willing to let her have it right then. But space wasn't what _he_ needed, because he needed someone else to help him figure out a way out of the mess that he'd put himself in.

But he was there to talk, and they were all waiting and watching him expectantly, so he decided to just get on with it.

"Lucy knows about Keaton."

Laxus instantly regretted his decision to take a drink from his glass of beer when he found himself choking on it momentarily after Bickslow's revelation. "W-What?"

"Well it was about time you told her about him," Evergreen said.

And as much as Freed agreed with Evergreen that it had really been time Lucy found out about the child, he could tell that there was more to it. And the only explanation that Freed could come up with for Bickslow looking as bothered as he did about the situation was that it hadn't been him that had told Lucy about his son. "It wasn't you that told her about Keaton, was it?" he inquired carefully as Laxus beside him continued to cough and splutter.

Bickslow shook his head. "Well, I mean, I did tell her, but…"

"But?"

"But it wasn't like I'd planned."

No longer choking on his drink, Laxus couldn't help but lean back with a slightly twisted smirk on his lips. "Oh, do tell what happened," he chuckled darkly. It was no secret that he took great delight in Bickslow's suffering sometimes, because whenever Bickslow had a problem it was usually one of epic proportions. The existence of Keaton being known had been no different, and Laxus had only laughed at the Seith mage for ten minutes straight before realising that Bickslow had in fact been very serious about fathering a child.

Once Bickslow had started seeing Lucy, though, they'd all been waiting for the day that Lucy found out about the kid. Laxus had been inclined to make a bet with Freed that Bickslow would sooner marry Lucy than tell her about his son. But with Bickslow's announcement of his child supposedly not going well, Laxus couldn't help but be overly intrigued. The entire thing had just been a disaster waiting to happen, and Laxus wanted to know all about it.

Bickslow sighed as he stared down to his empty glass. "Alright, okay," he began. "Right, so, uh, you know how it was his birthday today?"

"Vaguely," Evergreen nodded.

"Well, I was out with Cosplayer this morning, because, you know, I've been spending more time with Keaton lately and I feel fucking awful for leaving all the time and lying to her about it all…"

"Uh-huh…"

"But this morning, we were out for a little while because there was a new second hand bookstore she wanted to visit, so I took her… And then we had breakfast, but then I had to go, because Keaton wanted me at his party, right?" And really, it wasn't like he was going to say no to the kid. "So I just said that I had, like, errands to do. You know."

Laxus snickered. "Errands, really? Couldn't you come up with something better than that?"

"Laxus does have a point," Freed mumbled. He knew that Bickslow had been using that excuse for a while, so he suspected he knew where Bickslow's story was going.

"Shut up," Bickslow muttered before continuing with a grimace, "But anyway, I left, told her I'd see her later or something. I don't know. I get home, Lucy's on my lounge fucking crying, because she thought I was cheating on her with Quinn, because she followed me and saw me walking into her house. And I just… I had to tell her about the kid. I didn't have a choice."

"Oh dear…"

Evergreen sighed from beside Bickslow. "I'm sorry, but you did kind of bring this upon yourself, Bix…" she pointed out with a small shrug. "You had to know she would become suspicious of you at some point." That was the way Evergreen saw it at least. She didn't even really blame Lucy for deciding to follow Bickslow, or even for assuming that he was cheating on her. She would've thought the same about her partner had he been sneaking off and lying to her.

"No, I didn't know she would, because I was under the assumption she trusted me," Bickslow argued.

"And how long have you been lying to her again? Hm?"

The Seith mage sunk down into the booth and folded his arms across his chest. He had to admit Evergreen did have a bit of a point. He really couldn't just expect someone to trust him when he was lying to them. But still, it had all happened so quickly that Bickslow didn't know what to think; he didn't even know what Lucy was thinking, and that was really the worst part. "I guess you have a point there…" he mumbled dejectedly.

Laxus only watched the Seith mage sulk silently for a few moments before he looked between Evergreen and Freed in astonishment. "Seriously guys? Am I the only one wondering what Blondie's actual reaction was?" Laxus was half hoping Lucy slapped the moron she somehow fancied enough to date for the last six months.

The others looked at him expectantly and all Bickslow did was shrug. "I… I don't even know. That's the problem," Bickslow answered.

"What do you mean?" Freed asked.

"I mean, I told her that I had a kid, and then she left. I have absolutely no fucking clue what's going on. You know, I don't… I don't know if she wants to break up now, or if she hates me, or… Or if she just wants some space or something for a little while. I just don't know."

"This was only a few hours ago, yes?"

"Yeah…"

"Well, I'm sure Lucy just needs some time to think," Freed said. "I do not believe she hates you, Bickslow."

Evergreen nodded as she laid a hand on her Seith mage's shoulder. "You know how forgiving Lucy is," she added supportively and with a kind smile. "Besides, you did just drop a pretty big bombshell on her. You can't blame her for probably just needing a bit of space right now."

"I suppose so…" Bickslow mumbled. At that point, he supposed that all he could do was wait.

* * *

It became painfully obvious to Bickslow that Lucy didn't particularly want anything to do with him over the weeks that followed. He'd lost count of how many times he'd gone to her and tried to explain it all, but at least for the time being, Lucy just didn't want to hear it. Most of the time she had just flat out ignored him or closed her door on his face after opening it just to see who was knocking on it. The only time Lucy didn't ignore him was when they were in the guild, but even then, all she did was say a few words to him so it didn't become known to the entire guild that he'd gone and screwed everything up. And honestly, Bickslow was more than thankful for that.

If it was one thing he was sure of right then though, it was that Lucy hadn't told anyone else.

He gave her space for a little while, too, because he'd quickly realised (with the help of Freed) that pestering her all the time was only bound to make things worse. So he even went as far as taking a job request near the border of Fiore that would take him a week all up, just to try and make Lucy see that he really was trying to give her what she needed to deal with the mess he'd made. She needed space and she needed time, and Bickslow had honestly tried his best to give her that.

But there was only so much of giving her space and time that he could handle. Not knowing where he stood with Lucy was driving him insane. He really did want to just give her as much space and time as she needed, but not knowing just how much of it Lucy would need was where Bickslow's problem laid. He was incapable of waiting for her to be ready to talk about it.

So he tried again to get Lucy to give him a chance to explain things, and that only meant sitting right outside the door of her apartment and waiting for her to get home – whenever that may even be since she hadn't even been in Magnolia for the last two days. All he knew was that she was due back that evening. He figured the worst that could happen was getting a door slammed in his face, but that was something Bickslow could handle. He still had to try, though.

It wasn't until it was well and truly dark outside that Lucy did get home, and as soon as he heard the footsteps coming up the stairs, accompanied by her laughter and the 'Pun-puun!' of Plue, Bickslow quickly rose to his feet so he was standing right in front of Lucy's door. She had no way of avoiding him. "Hey…"

Lucy sighed when she saw him. "Bickslow, you shouldn't be here…"

"I know that," he said. "And I know that you don't want me here either, but I just… I really need to talk to you, okay?"

"I don't think that's such a good idea," Lucy mumbled. The truth was that she was scared of talking to Bickslow. She was absolutely terrified of having that conversation, because it would mean that Bickslow really did somehow have a kid. And honestly, Lucy only wished that he'd just been cheating on her. That would've just been so much easier; she could've just called him an asshole and been on her way. She knew how she was supposed to feel if Bickslow had actually been cheating on her.

But with him having a kid? She had absolutely no clue how she was supposed to feel. She was only confused. And somehow, that confusion made her terrified of talking to him. She just wasn't really ready to face it yet, and Bickslow showing up there wasn't making it any easier for her to figure out.

Bickslow sighed as he stepped out of the way, just to let Lucy unlock her door. He wasn't going to force her to talk to him – not really, anyway. "Look, I get that you really don't want anything to do with me right now, I really do," he said again. "But please, all I ask is that you give me a chance to explain everything. I promise, if… If you want me gone after that, then I'll leave you the hell alone. But please, I just… I just really need you to let me explain it all."

Lucy still wasn't sure what she was supposed to say; she still didn't even know what to think about what Bickslow had dropped on her previously. And truthfully, Lucy didn't even think she was ready to think about it. She just wasn't ready to wrap her head around just how the fuck it was that Bickslow had a child that she hadn't know about. "I… I don't know, Bickslow…" she said apologetically, pushing her door open slowly before looking up to the pleading Seith mage. "I just… I can't right now… I'm sorry…" And with that, Lucy was stepping over the threshold of her apartment and closing the door just as softly as she'd opened it.

He'd had enough doors closed in his face in his life to know that it meant there was nothing left he could do. And as much as Bickslow wished he could just take it all back to the beginning with Lucy and tell her about Keaton, he knew he couldn't. He couldn't even get Lucy to listen to an apology right then, but he had no one else but himself to blame for it.

Except once there was that door between them, Lucy only began to doubt herself. She doubted whether she'd be able to figure it all out on her own. She was only just beginning to realise that she didn't know half of what she needed to just to be able to get her head around it all. She knew now, that as much as she just wanted to be able to figure it all out on her own – how the hell her boyfriend could have a kid and keep it from her for so long – she just couldn't. The last thing Lucy really wanted to be doing was talking to Bickslow, but… That was what she needed to do. Bickslow was the only one who could explain everything to her and fill in the gaps. It wasn't something she could do herself.

And maybe, the sooner she just got it over and done with, the better. And not just for her own sanity, but maybe for Bickslow's, too. Lucy knew how much he wanted to talk to her and have her hear his side of the story, and she'd seen how much it was hurting him to not be able to do that as well. And as much space and time Lucy wanted, she didn't like that she was hurting Bickslow over it as well.

So, maybe Lucy really did just have to sit down with the guy and hear him out, no matter how much it was going to suck doing so.

In the few short moments it had taken for Lucy to come to that decision, she realised that Bickslow could've already left and that slowly opening her apartment door again to let him in and finally talk would just be in vain. Thankfully, Bickslow hadn't left just yet, and when he heard the door creak open and looked back over his shoulder from where he'd rounded to head down the stairs, to see Lucy just barely peeking her head out and looking for him, he just looked at her, waiting to see what it was she was about to say.

"Maybe… Maybe you should come in… So we can talk…" she said softly, stepping back just so she could pull her door completely open.

He wasn't going to risk asking if Lucy was sure, just for her to maybe change her mind. It might be the one opportunity he'll ever get to explain himself, and Bickslow was sure as hell going to take it. Merely nodding in thanks, he silently turned once more and crossed the threshold into Lucy's apartment.

He looked around at the small room, looking to the small kitchenette through the open curtains, to the simple lounge she had set up on the side closest to her bed and study. "Um, where do you… Where do you want me to sit… Or whatever…" he asked. The last thing he wanted was to impose or make her uncomfortable in her own home, and, well… the woman had a lot of chairs as well.

"Wherever is fine," Lucy answered, gently closing and locking the door behind herself. Even with Natsu's penchant for coming through the window instead of the front door, she didn't want her team barging in on a conversation like that. It was bad enough she'd had them all constantly asking if she'd broken up with Bickslow. She waited until Bickslow had decided on somewhere to sit (on one of the armchairs in her little living area, unsurprisingly) and she'd taken her eat seat opposite him to speak up again, "How long were you waiting outside anyway?"

"A few hours… Maybe more…" Bickslow admitted.

Lucy sighed as she hopped up from the lounge and quickly ducked into the kitchen, just to fetch the man something to eat and drink. "Honestly Bix, you're hopeless sometimes," she said once she returned. It was nothing fancy she gave him, just some grape juice and a slice of left-over lasagne that her landlady always made sure to leave in Lucy's fridge when she knew she'd be out of town for a few days. And Lucy knew how much Bickslow loved the landlady's cold lasagne… He was the sole reason she didn't end up throwing it all out. She didn't even like lasagne that much.

He couldn't help but smile sheepishly. "Yeah, but that's why you—never mind…" Bickslow paused after trailing off, and hesitantly picked up the knife and fork from the edge of the plate. Admittedly, he was starving – as well as incredibly thirsty – but Lucy being nice to him just felt like too much. He didn't think he deserved anything from her right then, much less kindness. "Thank you, though."

"You're welcome," she said softly. "Now eat. You can talk after." She didn't see much point in talking while he was actually eating, and… Well, Lucy found that she still wasn't quite ready to listen. So while Bickslow finished his meal, Lucy excused herself to take a quick shower to clean herself off all of the dirt that she could feel building up on her skin and in her hair from her last mission.

Once she was done and returned to the living room to sit down again, hair damp and dressed in sweatpants and a thin sweater that she rarely let people see her wear, Bickslow had cleaned up his dishes and was waiting in the chair for her, drumming his fingers nervously on the armrests.

"Do you want anything else?" Lucy asked before she made herself completely comfortable, bringing her knees up and wrapping her arms around them. Bickslow only shook his head. "Well, um… I'm ready now if you are." It was a lie, of course, because not even her short shower had been long enough to let her convince herself that she was ready to hear him out. But she seemed to accept that she was just never going to be ready to hear the full story anyway.

And, as far as Bickslow went, he was as ready as he was ever going to be as well. Except where he'd been wanting to tell Lucy about Quinn and Keaton for so damn long that it was almost relieving to be able to just sit there and get it all out, it just wasn't. Because he quite frankly had no fucking clue where to begin.

"Right, yeah… Um…" _Where the fuck do I even start?_ He supposed the beginning was probably the best place, naturally. It would probably make the most sense, too. Taking a large gulp from the glass of water he'd helped himself to while Lucy had been in the shower, Bickslow looked down to his hand on his knee, where his fingers dug into the growing rip over his kneecap and toyed with the fraying fabric, and steeled his nerves to finally say, "Well, short story is, I have a kid. But you already know that, I suppose. And, uh… His name is Keaton. And he just turned ten."

"He's… Huh? How is that even possible… How do you have a ten-year-old child?" Lucy whispered.

Bickslow grimaced. _Oh, this is going to be painful…_ "It's… complicated. But it's not as weird as it seems, I promise." The fact that he was only twenty-six and also had a ten-year-old was one of the most important reasons that very few people actually knew about Keaton. It was way too hard to explain how it had come to turn out that way, but Lucy was going to be making that short list of people who knew the entire story very shortly.

"Okay…"

He took a deep breath before continuing again, "And, the long story is… Well, it's not that long. But it's kind of long…"

"Bix…" Lucy warned. She'd planned on staying mostly silent, just to let Bickslow speak, but when he rambled? She couldn't let him do that.

"Right, I'm rambling. Got it." Taking another breath, Bickslow once again began, "That woman you saw me with before? Quinn, her name is. She's Keaton's mother. She was just… She was just someone I met in a bar or something and we slept together once ages ago and that was supposed to be it."

"So it was a one-night stand…"

"Pretty much, yeah." He'd had no intentions of ever seeing her again, and Quinn had had no intentions of seeing him, either. "Anyway, she got pregnant, and by the time she knew, I was already frozen on Tenrou Island…"

Lucy's eyes widened at the revelation. "Wait… You mean…"

"I met her in X784. In December. About a week before we all actually left for the trials," Bickslow said. And that… That was the reason things were so damn complicated. "So… As far as Quinn knew at the time, I'd died on Tenrou and she was going to have to raise the kid by herself." Quinn had told him years later, once they'd all been unfrozen and returned to Magnolia, that she'd gone to the guild early one morning looking for him to tell him that she was pregnant, and that had been when she'd learned of his 'death' in the first place. No one in the guild had even known who she was or why she'd been looking for Bickslow – not even to the current day. It had just remained a mystery, and Bickslow had always planned on keeping it that way.

Even without knowing who Quinn was, Lucy had to admit she felt a little sorry for the woman. It would've been stressful enough to be having a child with someone she didn't know, but to then find out that that someone she'd seen so alive and well just a few weeks earlier, had died? Lucy couldn't even imagine how Quinn would've felt back then.

"And, well… After everyone found out that we were actually alive and all, Quinn came and found me"—Not that Bickslow was sure how she'd done that at all, to be quite honest—"and told me that I had a five-and-a-half-year-old son named Keaton, and that was four and a half years ago," he finished. It had taken a while for Quinn to let Bickslow meet him (and it had taken Bickslow a while for him to decide if he wanted to meet his son at all, for that matter). But once he'd met the then six-year-old boy with the bright cobalt hair and the cute, little button nose and the leaf green eyes that were so full of mischief, Bickslow had totally been in love with the kid. Because it was his kid.

"Wow…"

"Pretty fucked up, right?"

"That's… not the wording I'd use," Lucy mumbled. Although, it was just a little fucked up. Just a tiny bit. And, well… The fact that Bickslow hadn't ended up fathering a child when he'd been a teenager did make her feel a little better. It was much more acceptable and reasonable for him to have gotten someone pregnant and then been frozen in time and space for seven years.

Sort of.

But… Well… There was still the issue where he'd thought it a better idea to keep all of that from her. And right then, that was what Lucy had the most trouble accepting. Would she have still wanted to be with him, had she known he had a son? Honestly, she had no idea. But a child was not something to be kept a secret in Lucy's eyes. Because if she was going to be with someone, she sure as hell believed that she deserved to know whether or not that someone is going to have to disappear every now and then to actually be a parent.

"Well, it is fucked up. I know it is. And it's even more fucked up that I didn't tell you about him, and I'm just… I am so, so sorry that you found out this way. I really am."

Lucy shifted uncomfortably on the armchair, pointedly looking away as he tried his best to earn her forgiveness.

"I wanted to tell you myself. I promise you that," he continued, pleading for Lucy to just understand him so they could move past it all. "But it's just… It's so fucking complicated and I just didn't know how to tell you about him."

"But you didn't even try to tell me… Not once…" she whispered. Lucy could accept that it was complicated, but when Bickslow tried to say that he wanted to tell her about his son? That wasn't something she could accept so easily.

"I know I didn't, but I just… I wanted to wait until it was the right time, you know?"

"And there wasn't a single 'right time' at all for the last six months…"

Bickslow had no response to that. Not even a single word. Because it had been six months since they're started dating, and if anything, there would've been plenty of opportunities for him to have told her. Except he'd just been… putting it off. He'd been avoiding telling her, in a way. And he really did hate himself for that.

Not even getting Quinn knocked up in the first place was as big a screw up as not telling Lucy about it. At least that was how he felt right then. Because Keaton had ended up being one of the best parts of his life, and not telling Lucy – and having her found out the way she had – was quickly becoming one of the worst parts of his life. And it all could've been avoided, had he just stopped waiting for that perfect opportunity and told her straight up.

"I… I don't know what else to say, other that I am so, _so_ sorry." He didn't think he would ever be able to say he was sorry enough for not telling her about Keaton. "And… And if you hate me, then… Then I'd get it, I would. But please don't—"

"I don't hate you…" Lucy whispered.

"Are you sure? Because I would. I mean, I already hate myself."

She frowned. Sure, she was pissed at the guy, but that didn't mean she was going to hate him – and she certainly didn't want him hating himself for it. "I don't think I'll ever be able to hate you," she told him.

"W-Well, thank you. I mean that." As far as he was concerned, Lucy should hate him. So he was lucky that she just didn't have the capacity to do so.

Lucy gave him a small smile, one that didn't quite reach her eyes. Now it was her turn to not really know what else to say. There was so much more she wanted to know, but… Right then, she didn't think she was ready to hear it. She needed more time to process everything else that Bickslow had finally admitted – because now she actually had something to process.

As much as Lucy wished she could sit there and let Bickslow explain everything about his son, she simply wasn't ready for that yet. Bickslow didn't really take it personally when she told him then that she needed time to think; he'd just been glad to have talked to her at all.

Still, Lucy just needed time to decide whether it was something she was ready to be involved with – directly or not – and she couldn't make that decision when Bickslow was sitting in front of her.

* * *

Bickslow gave Lucy all the space and time in the world after that. The most he did was greet her in the guild occasionally and ask her how she was, partly because he wanted to know how she was doing and partly because they each had people beginning to become nosy and ask them what was going on. They could still be civil to each other, unsurprisingly, but that was really it. And that was okay for the time being.

For Lucy though, it was hard to keep coming up with excuses as to why she wasn't spending any time with Bickslow anymore, or why she'd been acting so down. She hadn't been able to tell them the truth, that she was just trying to decide whether or not she could still even be with Bickslow, knowing that he had a son. She hadn't been able to tell them that it meant she had to question whether the person she'd spent the better part of a year slowly but surely falling in love with was someone she could even trust. And she certainly hadn't been able to tell them that she'd wondered if being with Bickslow again and accepting the fact that he had a son meant sacrificing her own chance of having her own little family one day – because she had been thinking about that, and she'd been thinking about that a lot. It wasn't something Lucy was particularly proud of either, to have daydreamed more than once over the last few months what things could be like in the future, where they were married and maybe had their own little family (or at least on the way).

She just couldn't tell her team any of that, and it didn't help that it simply wasn't something she wanted to be sharing, either. It was personal. And she wasn't the only person that could be hurt by over-sharing something. And at the very least, Lucy had never liked sharing all that many details about her relationship. She loved her team and her friends in the guild, she really did, but there were some things they just really had no business knowing.

So in the end, Lucy had simply told anyone who asked her about Bickslow, that they were just taking a little break. It wasn't exactly the truth, but it was true enough. And when Bickslow started hearing Lucy's answer, he took it as a good sign in a way. A break meant she wasn't completely done. Not yet, at least.

But, Lucy had to admit that she was curious, and probably too much for her own good. She didn't really know anything about Bickslow's son, other than that he was ten, his name was Keaton, and that Bickslow hadn't even known about him until he was already nearly six. And Lucy just… She wanted to know more. She had absolutely no idea what she wanted to do in terms of her relationship with Bickslow, but… She wanted to know more about his son.

So that was how Lucy came to be knocking on Bickslow's door right as the sun was rising one morning. She'd been up most of the night, just about strangling Plue with how tightly she'd been holding him, trying to figure out if asking Bickslow about his son was even the right thing to do. Lucy eventually convinced herself that it was, of course, but she still hadn't been able to wait until it was a reasonable hour to actually go and talk to him.

It was a little past six o'clock when Lucy knocked on Bickslow's door. And naturally, when Bickslow was nudged awake by the babies, them shouting at him to get the door, he wasn't exactly waking up in the greatest of moods. No one in their right mind visited people at 6 a.m. No one other than Lucy, it seemed, and when Bickslow opened up his door to reveal his sort-of, possible girlfriend, his anger was admittedly diminishing in an instant.

"Luc—"

"Can we talk?" she interrupted.

Bickslow only stared at her for a moment before nodding and moving aside to let her in. "Sure, of course. Come in," he said. His apartment was at neat and perfect as it always was, not even a single chair at the small table was left untucked and a book misplaced on the shelf. Lucy had always found it strange at first, but then she'd come to learn how meticulous he really was. Bickslow closed and locked the door back behind himself once Lucy was inside, and he swatted the babies away, mentally telling them to go back to bed and that _no_ , they couldn't go and cuddle Lucy. "Do you, um, want something to eat?" Bickslow asked awkwardly.

Lucy continued to hug Plue to her chest. "Just some tea if you have it." She really wasn't hungry at all. She took a seat on the plush sofa as Bickslow got about making her tea, and a coffee for himself, too. "I'm... I'm sorry for waking you," Lucy whispered, just loud enough for it to reach Bickslow's ears over the sound of the kettle boiling. "I just... I really wanted to talk to you and I couldn't sleep..."

"It's fine," Bickslow told her. "I needed to get up anyway." Granted, not that early, but still. He was leaving on a job with the Raijinshuu and Laxus later in the morning, and he'd had a few more things to do before meeting up with them and leaving.

Lucy didn't bother saying anything again until Bickslow was bringing her tea over and tucking himself into the opposite corner of the sofa, pulling the soft throw-blanket over his lap to keep his legs warm as he made himself comfortable – the man had a thing about being cold, it seemed.

"So... What did you, uh... You know... Want to talk to me about?" Bickslow questioned after another moment, the only sound in the room the quiet sips of the hot drinks in each of their hands.

She shrugged. "About your son," Lucy admitted quietly. She sneaked a glance to him just to see his eyes widen slightly in surprise and an eyebrow arch curiously. "If that's okay..." she added.

"Oh. Well... What do you want to know then?"

"...Everything? I... I don't know really." She hadn't thought about it much, to be perfectly honestly. Her lips curled up into a small, soft smile when she lifted her head to look at him across from her then. "Just anything you're willing to tell me, I guess. I just... I want you to tell me about him."

Bickslow's face seemed to light up then. Lucy being there and asking him to tell her about Keaton had to be a really good sign – or at the very least, that's how Bickslow was taking it. He hadn't really expected Lucy to ever ask about his son though, or maybe even take much of an interest in the whole thing, but there she was. She was making an effort, and that... That was a whole lot more than what Bickslow thought he deserved after he'd kept Keaton from her for so long. But still, Lucy being there and asking about him was something Bickslow really loved.

Quickly setting his coffee aside, he jumped up from his sofa and rushed down the hall with a wide grin on his face, leaving Lucy alone on the couch, confused and looking down to Plue for answers. (His usual 'Puun-Puun!' didn't really help though, but he meant well.)

Moments later, Bickslow was returning with a small box and he sat himself down right next to Lucy again, almost sitting on top of her in his excitement to talk all about his son. He didn't get many opportunities to do that. Not even with his team.

The box held just a few things, mostly photographs, some of them being older ones from Quinn when Keaton had been growing up and Bickslow hadn't been there to see it. He picked up the most recent one first, the one from his tenth birthday party just two months prior, and held it out to Lucy. "Well, you already know his name is Keaton," Bickslow began quickly, his excitement and enthusiasm for the conversation topic having no chance of being ruined any time soon. "And no, before you ask, I had nothing to do with that name. Obviously. But, this is him at his birthday a little while ago..."

It wasn't long after Bickslow showed her the first photo of Keaton that Lucy found herself unable to keep the smile off her lips Even if his son hadn't had the same dark red eyes and the same infectious grin, Lucy wouldn't have doubted the boy's parentage. Because she saw how much Bickslow cared about him. She could feel it, and she could hear it. She'd just never seen Bickslow been so passionate about something before, and just knowing that it was all because he was getting to tell her about his son finally... It warmed Lucy's heart.

* * *

Even after learning all about Bickslow's son, Lucy still needed her space, and Bickslow had once again accepted that. At one point though, Lucy seemed to realise that she'd already made up her mind. She'd already come to a decision about Bickslow and Keaton and whether it was something she wanted to be involved in, even just a little bit. And she seemed to have made up her mind when Bickslow had been telling her all about his son and she'd just loved seeing how excited he was.

For the most part, it really just came down to the fact that she missed him. She'd been missing him for weeks, even when she hadn't had any clue just what things were going to end up like. And even then, a small part of her was unsure of how things were going to play out, but the rest of her... The rest of her knew that everything would find a way to be okay in the end. She could still be with Bickslow, even though he had a kid, and she could be fine with that. For the most part, she already was.

Part of her was still disappointed with him for having kept it from her for so long, but Lucy knew that would fade with time. She could forgive him. Partly because she was a forgiving person, because she'd always believed that people were deserving of second chances. And partly because she could kind of see why Bickslow had kept Keaton from her for so long. It was complicated, at least a little bit, and Lucy had accepted that.

But... Even when Lucy had made her decision, and she'd already mostly forgiven Bickslow for his mistake, she found herself having no idea how to even tell him that. Lucy didn't know how to tell him that she could deal with him not telling her about Keaton for so damn long. She didn't know how to tell him that she could deal with maybe putting her own life on hold – one _with_ Bickslow, if that was what the cards held – just because she missed him and she wanted to be with him again. And she certainly didn't know how to tell Bickslow that she wanted to be part of his and his child's life, or ask him if he even _wanted_ that from her.

Lucy just had no idea.

But what she did know, however, was that the room Bickslow had set up in his apartment for his son was nowhere near being suitable. She'd really always thought it was a plain old guest room all the times she'd seen it. But now she knew that Keaton used it when he stayed for the weekend sometimes, and Lucy had known instantly that something needed to be done to it. Lucy still knew that Bickslow had the most honourable and the best of intentions, but... It still could've been at least a _little_ nicer.

So that was why she took it upon herself to fix it. Lucy doubted that Bickslow would've let her do anything to it had she asked him (and she could almost hear his voice in her head, telling her that it wasn't her job to make sure Keaton's room was nice and that it was his job and all that), so that was why she let herself in when she knew he would be out of town with Laxus and the Raijinshuu for a few days. Lucy very rarely used the spare key that Bickslow had given her months earlier.

She ended up staying in the apartment while Bickslow was gone, just because it was easier to work on the spare room. She'd ended up tidying the apartment as well, but most of her time had been spent sprucing up Keaton's room and actually making it _his_ room.

By the time Bickslow got home, two and a half days after he'd left, Lucy was just adding the finishing touches to make it perfect. When she heard the front door being unlocked, she couldn't help but jump slightly, and she was quickly fluffing up the navy-blue pillow and adding it to the centre of the bed and then rushing back out into the hall just in time to see Bickslow closing the door behind himself.

The Seith mage just about had a heart attack when he looked up and turned to see Lucy standing patiently at the mouth of the hall, hands folded behind her back and an almost suspicious smile gracing her lips. "Lucy, Jesus... What the hell are you doing here?" Bickslow asked, sighing as he pulled his visor off and ran a hand through his hair quickly. He didn't exactly have any issues with her being there and having let herself in while he'd been gone. He was just... confused.

She shifted uncomfortably on the spot. "I, well, um..." Lucy forced herself to look back up to continue, "Firstly, I'm sorry for letting myself in. I wouldn't have... Well, I wouldn't normally do that, but I... I wanted to do something for you while you were gone, so it could be a surprise for when you got back, so..."

"Uh-huh... Right..." Bickslow mumbled. "So... What _exactly_ did you do that you wanted to surprise me with?"

Lucy bit her lip, trying to quickly come up with an answer, before she sighed and said instead, "Please don't be mad at me." Bickslow arched an eyebrow at her, but followed her into the hall when she turned and then opened up the room to Keaton's room. "I just wanted to make it feel like he actually had his own place here, when he's here with you..." Lucy whispered, stepping aside to allow Bickslow to enter the room.

He was at a loss for words when he saw it. It had been almost completely changed from the last time he'd seen it. The walls were the same off-white, and the furniture itself was the same. But everything else... From the pirate flag poster hanging above the bed on the far side of the room, to the pirate chest sitting just beneath the window with the new anchor-print curtains. There was even a new bookcase in the corner, complete with new books and nautical themed figurines filling up all the spaces. Everything else in there was all new. And it was all Lucy.

"I didn't think you'd appreciate me painting your walls, or adding any nails or anything to hang things up..." Lucy mumbled as Bickslow still walked around the small room, admiring all the work that Lucy had done while he'd been gone. "There's a few more things I was considering putting up, but..." She shrugged. "I didn't want to do _too_ much." She hadn't wanted to go overboard with the redecorating, just in case Bickslow hadn't liked it, or that Keaton himself hadn't liked it. She didn't know all that much about him, regardless of how much Bickslow had told her. All Lucy knew for certain was that the kid had a thing for pirates, and he supposedly had for _years_.

But still, nothing in there that she'd done was permanent or was going to be difficult to remove. Lucy had made sure of that.

"Why did you..." He trailed off as he came to slowly face her again. "You did all of this? For... me?"

"I wanted your son to feel like he actually had his own place when he was here," Lucy admitted softly. "I wanted this to feel like as much as a home as his room at his mum's house does. And the way it was before... I'm not saying that you didn't care, because I know you did. I really do, Bickslow. I just... I wanted to help."

"But... Why?"

 _Why are you bothering to help me at all?_ Lucy knew that's what Bickslow's question really was, and it was the one she'd been expecting and dreading all at once. She still didn't really know how to how to give him an answer without feeling at least a little needy or clingy or something, though. But the simple fact of the matter was that it all came down to how she missed him, and missing him just meant she could find a way to work through the bombshell her boyfriend had dropped on just a couple of months prior.

And, maybe, instead of worrying about how stupid Lucy sounded (to herself, at least), she should just get it out there and be done with it. Putting it off and staring down at her feet wasn't going to make things any better. And if she couldn't even admit how she felt to Bickslow of all people, then who the hell could she say it to? For the most part, she trusted Bickslow more than she trusted her team – even after he'd lied to her for so long about Keaton – and Lucy seemed to have forgotten that with everything that had gone on.

She was remembering it right then though, and that was what was important.

"Because… Because I want the best for you," she whispered finally. "I want you to be happy, and… And I want _Keaton_ to be happy too, because he's your son and he deserves that as well. But I just… I miss you, and… And I love you, I really do, and—" Lucy was cut short when she let out a muffled shriek, right as she was pulled into a tight hug by Bickslow, his taller frame curling against hers so he could rest his chin on her shoulder.

"You really are amazing an amazing woman, Cosplayer," Bickslow said. "You know that?" He really did wonder if Lucy knew how wonderful she could be sometimes, because as far as he could tell, she had no idea.

Still, part of him really had expected Lucy to just decide that she didn't really want anything to do with him anymore, even if he had always had hope that things would eventually work themselves out. But, if Lucy had decided that, he wouldn't have blamed her. Not ever. It would've made sense, and he would've accepted it. Naturally, he would've moped and been miserable as all hell for a few weeks, but that wasn't the point. To Bickslow though, Lucy had had every reason to decide she didn't want to be with him anymore. Yet, there she was anyway, telling him that she missed him and she _loved_ him (he always thought he'd be the one to say it first, considering his annoying ability to get attached to things and people quickly, but he wasn't going to dwell on that right then), and… for the most part, Bickslow didn't really think he deserved that from her.

He was just amazed: amazed at what Lucy could put up with, and what she was willing to do for the people she cared for. Even if it was just making the room a whole lot nicer than it had been before, it was still a big thing to Bickslow (although admittedly, he had been meaning to get around to fixing up Keaton's room for months. It was just that he was terrible at decorating so he hadn't even had any idea where to begin, so Lucy had saved him a lot of work). He was the one who should've made sure the room was like that to begin with, not Lucy. But she'd done it anyway. _For_ him.

If it had been Lucy telling him she had a ten-year-old kid that she'd been keeping from him, Bickslow knew he would've high-tailed it the fuck out of there. It was why Bickslow had half expected Lucy to do the same thing. But, she hadn't. She'd stuck around when she probably knew full well that she had no reason or obligation to.

He leant back just to let his forehead rest against hers, letting out a gentle sigh as he closed his eyes for a moment. "I really don't deserve you sometimes."

"I'm inclined to agree with you this time," Lucy laughed. She knew she should probably hate Bickslow for lying to her for so long – because of all the things to lie about, having a kid was definitely one of the worst – but she just didn't. She was still annoyed that he hadn't told her, and she definitely wished she hadn't found out the way she had. But she didn't hate him.

And, if Lucy was honest, she could kind of see why Bickslow had had such a hard time telling her for so long. It really wasn't something that he would've been able to bring up over breakfast one morning. Granted, she didn't exactly agree with it, but she could see his reasoning.

"I have to admit though," Bickslow began, a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth as he lifted his head and straightened up again. "You're kind of making me feel like a pretty shitty dad right now."

Lucy shook her head quickly. "Oh god, Bix, that's… I didn't mean for that, I promise," she said. "I was just… I just wanted to help. Really. And I'm sure you're an _amazing_ father." She didn't doubt that, either.

"I know. I'm just kidding," he said softly. "But thank you. Just… Just _thank you_. For all of this. It's amazing, it really is." He wrapped his arms back around her to pull her into his chest, and after a moment, Lucy hesitantly wrapped her own arms around his waist. And for a little while, Bickslow was content with just hugging her.

"I just hope Keaton likes it," Lucy whispered.

"Baby, he's gonna _love_ it." That much Bickslow was certain of.

Lucy still hoped Bickslow was right. But either way, if his son didn't like it, she wouldn't be offended. She only knew what Bickslow had told her, and that was all she'd had to go on.

Still… Even if she was glad that Bickslow liked it and wasn't mad at her for the room (because really, Lucy had considered that a possibility, since she knew she'd been overstepping), and she was glad to at least be able to hug him again (because honestly, he did give the best hugs in the guild, as she'd quickly come to learn – she figured it was a height thing), there was just one teeny, tiny problem. And that problem was that her nose was currently burning and her eyes are on the verge of watering, all because of the all too disgusting odour coming from… Well, _Bickslow_.

The guy needed a shower. And to wash his clothes. Like, desperately.

Grimacing, Lucy pulled herself out of his grasp, pushing back with her hands on his chest. She didn't give the Seith mage a chance to ask what was wrong before he shook her head and said, "Like, I'm glad you like the room, and I'm glad to see you, but… Dude, you need to go take a shower."

Bickslow blinked, then quickly stepped as far back as he could with a look of shame and embarrassment on his face. "Right! Oh god, yes. I smell fucking terrible right now. I know. Shit, I'm sorry," he was quickly apologising, and then he was rushing straight out of the bedroom and into the bathroom next door, closing and locking the door behind him and starting the shower. He hadn't bathed in three days naturally, and it was getting warmer by that time of the year, and his usual clothes weren't all that great in the summer months. Not to mention that his cloak was still covered in dried vulcan blood from two days earlier, and that stuff was seriously foul smelling.

It was so bad that Bickslow had considered just leaving his prized cloak in the forest on the way back to Magnolia. But he hadn't been able to. He liked his cloak too much to ditch it.

* * *

It was just a few weeks after Lucy had redecorated Keaton's room while Bickslow had been out of town, that she was actually getting to meet the child for the first time. It had taken some convincing, especially after how Lucy had only wanted to curl up in a ball and hide for eternity after Bickslow had managed to get her to admit just what it was she'd been thinking and worrying about for two damn months – which had only ended with Bickslow jokingly (sort of) proposing just to try and assure her that she really hadn't needed to worry about _her_ missing out on anything. And of course, Lucy had said no.

But… After everything had been laid out, Bickslow eventually convinced Lucy to agree to meeting his kid. And Quinn by extension. And it wasn't like Lucy _hadn't_ wanted to meet Keaton (and, Quinn, of course), because technically, she was the one who had brought it up first anyway. It was just that once it had become an actual possibility, and then once it had been _planned_ … Lucy began to panic.

And by the time the Friday afternoon came around, where Quinn would be dropping Keaton off for the weekend anytime soon, Lucy had started pacing, and Bickslow had started getting dizzy just by watching her.

"They're both going to hate me. They're actually going to hate me."

Bickslow rolled his eyes as he continued tidying up his apartment – not that he was sure why he bothered considering it was always a mess by the time Keaton left on the Sunday, but he still did it anyway. "They're not going to hate you," he said. He really wasn't sure where Lucy was getting that idea, either.

"Are you sure? Because, I mean, if I was Quinn, _I'd_ hate me," Lucy said, waving her hands in the air as she continued to pace. She could've heard Bickslow's sigh from a mile away, it had been that loud. "What if she thinks I'm going to try and take Keaton from her or something? What if… What if she thinks I want to replace her and make it so you get full custody of him? God, and… And what if Keaton hates me because he doesn't want a step-parent?! Not that I would be anyway or anything, but…"

Bickslow collapsed down onto the middle of his couch once he was done tidying it up. "If it makes you feel any better, Quinn's already married."

"Why didn't you tell me this before?!" Lucy shrieked.

Bickslow shrugged. "I didn't think it was important," he answered. He didn't think Lucy would've actually cared about whether or not the mother of his child was in a relationship or not. It didn't really matter to him, so he'd just assumed it wouldn't matter to Lucy. "She's been married since Keaton was like, three or something."

"So… So he has a step-father then?"

"Yep. He's a good guy, too."

"And… And he was okay with Quinn wanting to introduce Keaton to you later?"

Bickslow shrugged again. "I guess so." Honestly, he'd only talked to the guy a few times. But from what he could tell, the dude hadn't seemed to have a problem with Quinn wanting Keaton to know who his actual dad was. Although as far as Bickslow was concerned, his son's step-father was way more of a dad to Keaton than he'd ever be. And that was fine with him.

"Oh. Well…" Lucy wrapped her arms around herself and began to slow her pacing. She had to admit that it was relieving to hear, at least as far as Quinn being married and Keaton already having a larger-than-usual family. But she was still worried they'd hate her. She was meeting her boyfriend's son for fuck's sake. She had to make a good impression. And, well… Lucy was convinced she was just going to make a fool of herself, she was that nervous. "They're still going to hate me. I'm sure of it."

There was a gentle knock on the door then, and Bickslow took that as his cue to get up. Lucy only frowned when she heard it, but it at least stopped her pacing which Bickslow was thankful for. But before Bickslow got the door, he went to Lucy first, pressing a gentle kiss to the top of her head before he promised her, "Cosplayer, they're not going to hate you. You have nothing to worry about." He'd honestly be surprised if they did hate her.

Lucy could only nod, and she stood back and out of the way as Bickslow finally opened the door to his son and Quinn.

"Hey buddy!" Bickslow greeted the boy, reaching down just to pull the cap he was wearing off and then hang it on a hook on the back of the door. "No hats inside, remember?"

"Sorry, Dad," Keaton smiled.

Lucy watched as Bickslow stepped back to let them both in, but as much as she wanted to just disappear into the wallpaper right then, she couldn't. Because that was when Bickslow turned around, right after he'd closed the door behind Quinn, and he pointed right towards her as he crouched down besides Keaton. "Remember how I said there was someone special I wanted you to meet?" Bickslow said then, naturally with the stupid grin plastered on his face as Keaton looked between himself and Lucy standing awkwardly by the table. "This is Lucy."

If Lucy had had any doubts about Bickslow having a son, they were long gone when the boy grinned and waved at her. "Hi, Lucy!"

Lucy nodded and returned the smile. "It's nice to meet you, Keaton," she said softly.

Bickslow stood then and pulled the bag from his son's shoulders. "How about we go put your bag down, huh?" he suggested. "I have something cool to show you in your room anyway!" It would be the first time Keaton saw his room since Lucy had redecorated it, and Bickslow was still convinced he'd love it. But he wasn't allowed to tell him that it had all been Lucy's doing. As far as anyone else was concerned, the room was all Bickslow's doing. But the fact that it had all been Lucy was just going to be their little secret, and that was fine.

With the promise of something cool to see, Keaton was racing off to his room with Bickslow following closely behind. Quinn couldn't help but shake her head as she watched them. She ordinarily would've already left by then though, since she never really saw a point in hanging around much whenever she dropped Keaton off – it was Bickslow's time with him after all – but that day, she had a reason to stay. At least for a little while.

So when she looked back to the woman standing awkwardly and uncomfortably by the table still, Quinn stepped forward, a kind smile on her lips, and extended her hand. "So you're Lucy. I'm Quinn," she said, shaking Lucy's hand when she hesitantly reached back with her own for a moment. Although really, Quinn didn't blame Lucy for being so uncomfortable right then. She would've been feeling the same had it been reversed. "It's so nice to finally put a face to the name! Bickslow has honestly told me so much about you already." And for the most part, it had really just made Quinn excited to meet her.

But hearing that, all Lucy could do was blush even harder. She was definitely going to have to ask Bickslow about that later.


	12. Moonlight (T) (Sequel to Sunshine)

_This one is super long, like 24k words. I apologise for that. But, I had a lot to include. For the most part, I just wanted to get it finished and out of my WIP folder, so the later scenes aren't the best (as per usual). Anyway, this one is a sequel to another story in this collection, titled 'Sunshine'. It's chapter two for those on mobile. It's probably not completely necessary to have read that before reading this, but I highly recommend it. This story will make a lot more sense having read that one._

 _There's a little bit of a vague ending too, and again, I'm not the happiest with the way the second half of it turned out - it feels pretty bland and empty to me. But... I think it's okay, and that it works a little bit. I don't know. Either way, I hope you enjoy it._

 _ **Summary :** The beginning was easy. It was just everything else that was hard. Between Flare coming back into his life (and not in the way he expected), moving across the country and figuring out long-distance relationships, and then just figuring out just where it was they were going with each other, Bickslow and Lucy find themselves struggling for a little while._

 _ **Characters** : Bickslow, Lucy, Flare, Natsu_

 _ **Rating** : T_

* * *

 **Moonlight**

* * *

Natsu rolled his eyes as he threw his towel over his shoulder to bang his fist on the closed bathroom door for what he was sure the hundredth time that morning. "Luce, come on," he shouted. "You've been in there for ages. Hurry up."

All Natsu wanted to do was take a shower (and admittedly it was a rare occasion when he bathed willingly, because showers and baths were just so time consuming sometimes), but he couldn't, because Lucy was hogging the damn thing. After that time he'd walked in to get in the shower with her so he didn't have to have an icy cold shower, Natsu knew he had no other choice but to wait for the shower to actually be vacated. Of course, he still didn't really get why Lucy had screamed at him when he'd walked in on her. It wasn't like he hadn't seen her naked before, but apparently that had just been beside the point.

Still, Natsu just wished Lucy wasn't taking so goddamn long that morning. She really had been in there forever (like half an hour), and if her probably using all of the hot water up wasn't bad enough, it was Lucy who was usually on his case about making sure to be efficient with his power and water usage and all that. Yet there she was, wasting water.

When he heard the water finally being switched off in the bathroom, Natsu just slumped against the wall with another roll of his eyes. "About time!" he yelled. And Happy sitting by his feet next him just meowed in agreement (or so Natsu assumed) before returning to licking his paws.

The door opened just a few moments later and Natsu was already getting himself ready to have Lucy yell at him about not interrupting her private time, because that was what she usually did when he told her to get out of the shower on the odd occasions she stayed in there for-fucking-ever. But it wasn't Lucy who walked out, which only left him stunned for a second when only steam and no shrill voice came through the open door. It was actually Bickslow who walked out with just the white towel wrapped around his hips, and Natsu could only sigh and step back so the smirking man could get down the hall.

Natsu really wasn't all that fond of Bickslow (and Bickslow knew it, too), even if the guy had been dating his roommate for a little over two months at that point and there hadn't really been a single week where Bickslow hadn't spent at least one night there and instead of at his own home.

Natsu had just been friends with Lucy for so long that he'd seen her at her absolute bests, and of course her absolute worsts. He remembered how Lucy had been she'd started falling for Bickslow in the first place, and he remembered just how miserable she'd been as soon as she'd walked in their front door sometimes. Natsu had just lost count of how many times he'd had to rush out to the nearest open grocery store or fast food place to get all of Lucy's comfort foods for their movie nights.

But it was because of all that that Natsu had yet to allow himself to completely trust Bickslow. He could see how happy Bickslow had made Lucy over the last few weeks, but Bickslow had still been the one to make Lucy completely miserable for so long, and Natsu couldn't forget that. Even with the both of them having tried their hardest to explain to him just how the hell it was they'd even ended up together in the first place (because really, it had confused the hell out of Natsu), he kept worrying that he'd get home one day just to find Lucy curled up on the lounge and in serious need of her best friend to have a movie night with. Because Bickslow had unintentionally hurt her before, and Natsu wasn't so convinced that it would never happen again.

When Lucy emerged from the bathroom just a moment later, she only smiled apologetically to her roommate and best friend. She knew just how Natsu felt about Bickslow, and even if Natsu _hadn't_ been scowling and making it obvious he was imagining burning Bickslow alive (or something along those lines at least), Lucy knew for certain that Natsu was less than pleased about having had to wait for a shower because of her boyfriend.

"I'm sorry, Natsu," she apologised softly. "There's hot water left, I promise."

"Yeah, yeah. Sure," Natsu muttered. He was about to close the bathroom door behind himself before he added over his shoulder, "But Luce? Can you two like, not do _that_? Or at least wait until I'm not here to take over the bathroom?" It was bad enough that Bickslow was there for at least half the week and that Natsu had even resorted to buying earplugs to stop him from hearing anything from the bedroom right next to his. But for the two of them to be doing it in the bathroom, too? Nope, nope, nope. Natsu didn't want to be on the same _street_ then.

"U-Um, yes! Of course! Sorry again, Natsu." Lucy ducked her head in embarrassment as she dashed down the hall to her bedroom. Bickslow was already getting dressed and was pulling out a pair of his slacks from the dresser, so Lucy only picked up the damp towel from the floor and threw it at him after slamming her door closed behind her. "Don't do that again!"

Bickslow was confused as he stood in the middle of Lucy's room in just his boxers with a towel in one hand and his pants in his other. "Do what?" he asked. "Drop the towel on the floor?" Because he'd done that before. He did that every time, actually, but his girlfriend had never thrown it at him for doing so.

"No," Lucy huffed. Her face was still beet red as she hastily pulled out her own undergarments from the dresser and then a dress from her wardrobe. "Shower with me," she answered. She wouldn't be so embarrassed if Bickslow hadn't decided to join her in the shower that morning.

He raised an eyebrow at the blonde. "You didn't seem to be complaining about it before…" he mumbled. "And besides, what else was I going to do? I needed a shower, and you're always going on about saving water and all that anyway, so isn't it a win? It was one shower instead of two." Of course, Bickslow hadn't exactly been thinking about water conservation when he'd stepped into the bathroom that morning to join his girlfriend's shower. His entire thought process had just been _naked girlfriend, hot water, awesome._

"That doesn't count if the first shower ended up being twice as long," Lucy pointed out. She glanced over her shoulder at him when he came to zip up her dress at the back, then mumbled, "But if you _insist_ on doing that again, it'll just be showering. No… No _other stuff."_

"I don't seem to recall you complaining about the _other stuff_ , either."

"That's not the point."

Bickslow rolled his eyes as he finished getting dressed himself. "Fine, fine," he sighed. Lucy had rules – or really, it was just _one_ rule. He knew it, and had accepted it. It had seemed fair enough anyway, and he wasn't there so often that it actually bothered him. No sleeping together when Natsu was at home. But really, Lucy had only said that they couldn't because Natsu's bedroom was right next to hers and she didn't want to make Natsu even more uncomfortable than he already was with Bickslow being there occasionally. She'd basically only said that the bedroom was off-limits when Natsu was home, so Bickslow just thought he might've found a loophole with the shower situation…

Apparently not, it seemed. But whatever. It was fine. Showers were just awkward and not at all a practical place to have sex. But that was what his house was for, because there were no rules whatsoever and he had no roommates. They'd figured it all out.

Lucy was still trying to do something with her damp hair when Bickslow was checking the time on his watch. He knew they'd be cutting it close that morning, but he didn't think it would've been by that much. _Maybe the shower wasn't such a good idea._ So he was just picking up his bag and his jacket and then turning back to Lucy before heading for the hall. "Hey, Sunshine, we gotta go."

"Now? But… But I haven't even done my makeup yet!" she said.

"Do it in the car." He'd learnt from the last time he'd told her she didn't really need it that it was a bad thing to say. Honestly, he didn't know why it was, but he wasn't going to say it again.

"What about breakfast?"

"We'll pick up something on the way."

Lucy sighed as she quickly gathered up everything she could put on in the car in a small purse. She wasn't even going to _try_ and do eyeliner in a moving car. That was just a disaster waiting to happen. So then grabbing her heels from the wardrobe and slipping her feet into them quickly, she was following Bickslow out into the hall and calling out to Natsu still in the shower that they were off to work.

* * *

Cana eyed the two walking through the main doors of the building's lobby with suspicion. She'd been working there long enough to know most of the upper level staff by name – or at the very least _face_ – and she'd spent enough time watching whoever walked past her reception to know just who was sleeping with whom and who was close to getting fired from being constantly late. Cana just noticed everything, and she took great pride in the fact that she knew everything, too.

Knowledge was power, wasn't it?

But of the many things Cana knew, she knew that Lucy and Bickslow _never_ got to work at the same time. Bickslow had just always arrived first. Yet Cana just hadn't been able to help noticing how the two of them arriving _together_ had been happening increasingly more often over the last couple of weeks. It wasn't every day, but it was certainly enough for Cana to notice that it was happening frequently.

So she just watched silently as the two continued heading towards the gates that blocked off the rest of the building from everyone else. They happened to be almost right next to her reception desk, too, so Cana heard Bickslow chuckle when Lucy was suddenly shoving her coffee into his free hand.

"Sure, I'll hold your coffee for you. No problem." Bickslow shrugged before drinking from his own coffee. _What else are my hands good for anyway?_ But hey, he'd paid for her breakfast on the way, and later her coffee, so he might as well hold it, too – not that he knew why he was suddenly needing to, but Bickslow was sure it had something to do with the way Lucy was suddenly rifling through her handbag.

She only rolled her eyes at him as she continued digging through her bag and then her wallet once she'd found it. "I can't… I can't find my access card…" she mumbled.

"Well, why don't you look in one of those other pockets?" he suggested. Because every god that existed knew that Lucy had enough extra pockets on her bag to make her capable of carrying as much crap as Mary Poppins herself.

Lucy sighed as she proceeded to check every single pocket on her bag for a second time or even a third time. She'd even emptied out her entire wallet to see if she'd just stuck her card in there somehow, but now all Lucy had was a whole bunch of crumpled up receipts amongst the loose coins, folded notes, and debit and ID cards sitting at the bottom of her purse. Her access card, though, was just nowhere to be seen. "I must have dropped it somewhere, or left it at home or something," she sighed.

Bickslow handed her coffee back to her and glanced down to his watch. They weren't late yet, even having had to leave basically as soon as they'd finished getting dressed, but they certainly didn't have time to go all the way back to Lucy's house to get her card, assuming it was there at all. "Do you want my keys to go check if it fell out in the car or something?" Bickslow asked, even pulling the keys with the tiny crescent moon keyring on them out of his pocket and offering them to the blonde.

"Oh, no, it's okay." She pushed his hand back to him with a nervous glance around them. The last thing Lucy needed was to have people she worked with think there was anything going on just because she'd started going to work with him, even if there _was_ something going on. They were just keeping it between them for the time being, because the entire situation was just way too complicated and neither felt like explaining it to anyone just yet. It didn't help that Lucy doubted her card had fallen out in Bickslow's car anyway.

"You sure?"

She nodded. "I'll get a pass from Cana and then just get another card printed from IT, so I'll see you in a bit, okay?" Lucy was absolutely dreading her trip to the IT department, just because it was always like walking into some creepy dungeon where the creepy-crawlies were just the jerks who worked there, but it was a trip she knew she needed to make. She'd been meaning to get a new photo taken for her ID anyway.

Bickslow only shrugged. "Suit yourself."

Lucy stepped over to the reception desk as Bickslow swiped his own ID on the gate and made his way through to the elevators. Cana was already setting a pen down next to the required visitor paperwork by the time Lucy was there, so all Lucy could do was sigh before she began filling it out. "Were you _eavesdropping_ , Cana?" she asked with a slight smirk.

The receptionist sipped at her coffee before answering innocently, "Me? Never."

"Uh-huh… Of course not."

"What's up with you and Mr. Tall, Dark, and Handsome anyway?" Cana asked. She snickered at how Lucy's pen suddenly slipped and drew a line halfway across the page before she continued teasing the blonde, "Oh? So that means there _is_ something going on between you two, right?"

Lucy felt her face heat up from her friend's question. "W-What? No…" Lucy knew it was a lie that Cana could see straight through, since Cana had always been one of the only people that knew how she'd felt about Bickslow. But her newfound relationship with her co-worker was not something they were talking about with anyone else just yet.

Keeping it just between them (well, and Natsu, of course, just because he was her roommate) was something they'd agreed would be best after they'd come to sort out what had eventually come to be the beginning of their relationship. It had just been smarter to not be so public about it, simply because Bickslow had been engaged to someone else just a couple of months earlier. It still wasn't something Lucy herself was all that comfortable with, but since it had taken over a week for people they worked with to find out that Bickslow was no longer engaged to Flare, they'd just decided to wait a little while longer before announcing their own relationship to their colleagues and bosses.

The last thing either of them had wanted was to be judged by the people they worked with, even if it really was none of their business.

"Oh, come on, Lu," Cana whined. "You're a terrible liar."

"I am not."

"You kinda are," the receptionist laughed. With the simple paperwork filled out, Cana only handed Lucy the visitor badge with her name printed on it and leant forward over her desk to question the blonde some more. "But come on, you know I can keep a secret. Tell me what's up."

"Who says there's anything up at all?" Lucy argued innocently. Despite how much Cana already knew, she didn't quite think Bickslow would be all that happy if she'd told someone about them when they'd both agreed to keep quiet for the time being.

"Because the guy breaks up with his fiancée and all of a sudden you two are coming into work together like every second day."

Lucy shrugged. "Carpooling."

"We both know you two live on complete opposite sides of the city," Cana pointed out.

That much Lucy couldn't argue, just because it was the truth. Magnolia was a small city thankfully, but Bickslow's house was still a thirty-minute drive from where Lucy and Natsu shared their little townhouse. It was really the only thing Lucy didn't like about having Bickslow stay over during the week and then going to work together, just because he had to drive all the way back to her house to drop her off in the afternoon, and then drive all the way back to his own home. Sometimes Lucy really would just prefer to catch the train.

But of course, there were really only so many excuses Lucy could come up with. And if Cana had already begun to notice, Lucy only wondered how long it would be before anyone else seemed to notice that they were spending a little more time together following Bickslow's engagement getting called off.

And besides, it was Cana she was talking to after all. She'd been one of her best friends right since she'd first started working there, and Cana had always been there when she'd occasionally needed to vent (and cry) about Bickslow. It wouldn't be the worst thing in the world if she told Cana she was actually with Bickslow, because the woman had basically already figured it out on her own. She'd be doing little more than confirming her suspicions.

"Well… He's just been, uh…" Lucy cast a glance around her to make sure no one else of importance was listening before turning back to Cana with a small shrug. "You know, staying over a bit."

"Are we talking _crashing on your couch_ staying over, or _adult sleepover_ staying over?" Cana asked with a sly grin.

"…All I'll say is that I have a few more shirts in my wardrobe that don't actually belong to me."

"Damn, Lu… You two sure didn't waste any time."

Lucy shrugged before mumbling, "It was a little complicated."

"Oh, I don't doubt it…" That was possibly the one thing Cana didn't doubt. Still, Cana knew that Lucy wasn't the type of person to just jump right into something without knowing exactly what it was she was getting herself into, and whatever it was she had with Bickslow would be no different. But even trusting Lucy's judgement, Cana didn't know Bickslow all that well, and the last thing she wanted was her friend to get hurt. "But Lu? Just be careful, alright?"

She smiled as she nodded to the receptionist. "I know, Cana," Lucy replied.

Once she'd gotten her new ID from the jerks in the IT department, Lucy was finally heading to her desk to get started for the day. She'd barely managed to sit down and turn her computer on before Bickslow was swivelling in his chair to face her and asking, "So how would you feel about meeting my parents?"

Thankfully, their desks were in one of the back corners of the floor and next to the conference room so there weren't that many people around them to overhear, but Lucy still spluttered and looked around quickly to make sure no one had heard Bickslow anyway. "E-Excuse me?" she responded. "Did you just ask me how I'd feel about meeting your parents?"

Bickslow shrugged. "Yeah?"

"Don't you think that's a conversation for when we're _not_ in the office?" Lucy pointed out quietly. It would surely be just a little difficult to explain their conversation should anyone walk past, and Lucy really didn't want to have to try and come up with an excuse.

"Does it look like anyone else is listening to me right now?" he said, gesturing to everyone else in their cubicles. "Half the people here wear headphones all the time anyway. No one is listening."

"Still…"

"So, how do you feel about meeting them?"

Honestly, Lucy wasn't opposed to meeting Bickslow's parents. Not even a little bit. She just couldn't quite tell why Bickslow was bringing it up then all of a sudden. "I have no problem meeting them," Lucy answered. "But why are you wondering right now?"

He shrugged again. "No reason in particular. I just was." It was really just because he'd finally had a chance to check his emails and he'd received another one of his parents' bi-annual updates that they sent out to the entire extended family, and he'd only thought it would be a good idea to introduce his girlfriend to his parents. Plus, he'd happened to be invited to dinner there in a couple more weeks, so it had really just seemed like a good time to ask. "So you won't mind having dinner with them in a couple weeks?"

Lucy couldn't see a reason to say no to dinner with Bickslow and his parents, so she merely shrugged and said, "Sure, why not?"

* * *

"God, I can't believe you could be so _stupid_!"

Bickslow only sighed as Lucy stormed down the hall after he'd closed the door behind them. He'd been waiting for that all night, ever since they'd arrived at his parents' house and his father had only opened the door and assumed he'd gotten Lucy knocked up. Within ten seconds Bickslow had remembered just why he didn't talk to his parents that often, and his father automatically assuming he'd gotten his girlfriend pregnant hadn't even been the worst part.

The worst part was that he'd had to sit through his parents making little comments about how they'd always really loved Flare all through dinner. Bickslow was sure Lucy had almost started crying at one point.

But as bad as he felt about having invited Lucy to meet his parents then, he knew that he deserved her yelling at him, especially considering the fact that he hadn't told his parents about breaking up with Flare and getting with Lucy until they'd already assumed she was pregnant and that he was cheating on Flare.

He'd screwed up. He'd known that all night.

"Sunshine, I'm sorry. I really am," he apologised profusely as he followed her down to his bedroom. "I didn't know it would be like that, I promise."

"Then what did you think it would be like then?" Lucy continued to seethe. She had to refrain from throwing the boots with the dangerous heels on them at the guy as she pulled them off her feet; throwing them in front of the dresser had to suffice before she rose to her feet again. "Did you think it would be all sunshine and rainbows and that I'd become best friends with your parents just like that?"

"W-Well, no, but—" The bathroom door being slammed only had Bickslow sighing again and shutting his mouth. He was beginning to realise that he wasn't all that sure what he'd been expecting when he'd knocked on his parents' front door with a girlfriend that they knew nothing about. But the hell he – _they'd_ – had to endure was most definitely what he'd anticipated. The only good thing about it all, as far as Bickslow could tell, was that Lucy was still spending the weekend at his place, just like she always did. Apparently not even being embarrassed and borderline insulted by his parents could stop her from staying over, and that only gave him hope.

It was just an argument – their first argument, he supposed. It was kind of exciting, considering all things.

Still, he most definitely hadn't expected his parents to instantly get along with Lucy or even like her. If anything, it was the last thing he'd _wanted_ to happen, too, just because he knew that if his parents liked Lucy, they'd only try to get involved in his life again and he didn't want them to. But he could honestly say that the last thing he'd expected was for his parents to make a point of being assholes.

When Lucy came out of the adjoining bathroom just a few minutes later, dressed and ready for bed, Bickslow was already in his own pyjamas – that were really just an old shirt and his boxers – and sitting on the edge of the bed and waiting for their argument to continue. "So what did you expect?" Lucy asked again.

"I… I don't know, I really don't," Bickslow sighed once again. "But if I'd known they'd do _that_ , I wouldn't have asked you to meet them."

Lucy only turned to around to lean on the doorframe when Bickslow got up from the bed to head into the bathroom and stand in front of the sink. "Oh, well I guess everything is fine now, right?" Lucy challenged. "Because as long as you didn't _know_ your parents would spend three hours comparing me to your ex- _fiancée_ , I'm just being overdramatic, aren't I?"

Bickslow rolled his eyes. "Lucy, come on," he mumbled with a mouth now full of toothpaste.

"I should probably just forget about all of this," she continued with a shrug, turning once again for the made bed in the centre of the room. "That's what Flare would've done, right?"

It was then that Bickslow realised just how much of a problem his parents had caused. And sure, he knew that it had all ultimately been his fault anyway because he'd been the one to take her there and put her in that situation, and the fact he hadn't told his parents about breaking up with Flare certainly hadn't helped. But Lucy _hated_ talking about Flare, and Bickslow didn't blame her for it. He knew how uncomfortable it made her when his ex was the conversation topic, so he'd done his best to avoid even _mentioning_ Flare since they'd decided to start dating – but it really wasn't like Bickslow enjoyed talking about Flare either, because he didn't.

Still, he thought that maybe Lucy would've just brushed off everything his parents had said last night. He thought that Lucy would've known better than to actually _listen_ to anything they said after they'd been so kind to let her overhear that she was merely just a phase, and that he'd soon be realising his mistake, and then that they were just utterly disappointed they hadn't even been told about him breaking up with Flare earlier, for they were sure they would've been able to talk some sense back into him and save his wonderful relationship.

But it had quickly become obvious to him that their painful and exhausting night at his parents' house had bothered Lucy more than he originally thought. She wouldn't be there comparing herself to Flare right then if she wasn't so hurt by what had happened.

He flicked the light off in the bathroom after finishing brushing his teeth and then made his way back into his room where Lucy was already pulling each extra throw pillow down from the headboard to get ready for bed. It wasn't horribly late, thankfully, but it had been an hour drive just to get to his parents' house, and after the night they'd had to endure, it was no surprise that Lucy wanted to go straight to bed, too. "Lucy, come on," he said again. "Don't do that."

"Don't do what? Don't talk about the woman you were still engaged to just two months ago?"

Bickslow shrugged. "Well, yeah." That was pretty much it.

"Why not?" Lucy asked as she roughly set the first pillow down on the ottoman at the foot of the bed. "Does it make you _uncomfortable_ , Bickslow?" The venom in her voice only made Bickslow wish he could slowly back out of the room and hide from her (sleeping on his own lounge seemed appealing all of a sudden), but he knew retreating wasn't an option. "Does talking about your ex-fiancée that your parents adore to pieces make you uncomfortable?"

She knew damn well that it made him uncomfortable, but Bickslow knew that it was far worse for Lucy. And he knew exactly what she was saying right then, too, and he hated it, mostly because it was his fault. "Can we please just forget about this?" Bickslow pleaded with a tired sigh. "Let's just… Let's just go to bed, and pretend that none of it happened."

And as much as Lucy wanted to pretend that none of it happened, she really couldn't, and that had been before she'd had the _pleasure_ of meeting his parents. "How the hell am I supposed to just forget it when you still have things like _this_ sitting right in front of me?" she demanded.

Bickslow caught the small pillow that she threw at him from across the bed and just looked down to it with a frown. It was the macaroni cheese pillow from his engagement party. "It's just a pillow, Sunshine," he pointed out as he set it down at the foot of his bed with the other two spare pillows. "You know I love it." If anything, it was the only one of the engagement presents he and Flare had received that he'd actually been _glad_ about not having to return. The rest of the crap he'd received from all of Flare's friends and then the few co-workers he'd invited to the party had all been horrible. The cheesy pillow was the best present ever.

"But it was an _engagement_ present, Bickslow. I bought that for you and _Flare_."

"I know that. But what do you want me to do then? Do you want me to go throw it out? Because I'll go and do that right now if—"

"God, it's not about the stupid pillow!" Lucy cried out in frustration.

"Then tell me what it _is_ about," he said softly as he climbed into bed beside her. "Please." The last thing Bickslow wanted to do was _assume_ what the problem really was, even if he had a pretty good idea about it. He only figured he'd done enough to screw things up, so the least he could do right then was just listen and try and make it better.

"It's about you not even telling your parents you were with me," she finally admitted. And for something that could easily just have be passed off as a misjudgement, it was what Lucy hated the most. She'd always been worried about things with Bickslow maybe not being all that she'd thought them to be, just because of how messy all of it really was. And it really wasn't like she'd gone into her new relationship with Bickslow without thinking about all of the consequence or everything that _could_ end up happening, because she'd thought about all of it extensively. She'd even gone as far as writing a pros and cons list for dating Bickslow.

And when Bickslow didn't even tell his parents that he was with her, she couldn't help but think that it was only because he didn't see the point of telling them about someone who probably wouldn't be part of his life for very long. Regardless of how many times Bickslow had tried to make her believe that he was truly in love with her and that he wasn't just _telling_ himself that all of it was real, Lucy just hadn't been able to completely believe him. She'd always doubted him. Because for years she'd had to sit there and watch him be happy with someone else, only to have Bickslow come and tell her that none of it had been what he'd thought. She was just terrified of the same thing happening to her.

Bickslow groaned into his hands. "I just forgot to tell them. It's not a big deal."

"Oh. You just _forgot_ , did you?"

"Lucy, don't be like this. I don't talk to my parents that often, that's all. I never had a chance to tell them."

She would admit that it made a little bit of sense, but that didn't mean she wasn't angry anymore, because she was, and she was still worried about the state of her relationship. "Well… Well they still don't like me," she pointed out.

"Who cares if they don't?"

"I care!"

"Why?"

"Because… Because I don't want them thinking that I'm just a phase or anything," Lucy answered quietly as she hugged a pillow tightly to her chest. "I don't want to be that, either…"

Bickslow sighed and fought the urge to smother himself with his own pillow. "Sunshine, you're not a damn _phase_ – whatever the hell that even means," he insisted. "Do I need to remind you that I already asked you to marry me two months ago?"

Lucy shook her head. "You weren't being serious then. That doesn't count."

"I was being serious." Even despite having broken up with Flare just before, he'd been dead set serious when he'd suggested getting married. He just hadn't been all that offended by Lucy thinking it was a joke – not until right then, anyway. "But I mean it, you're not a phase. And I honestly don't have a single fuck to give about what my parents think of you, and neither should you. I don't talk to them, Lucy. They're not part of my life. You are, and that's what matters, okay?" Bickslow had zero intentions of ever getting back with Flare, but had _every_ intention of sticking with Lucy for as long as she decided to love him. He didn't care if his parents didn't like Lucy, because _he_ liked her – a hell of a lot, too – and that was all that was important to him.

Lucy was hesitant to believe him, but she didn't think she'd get much further in that conversation that night, so she merely sighed and crossed her arms across her chest. "W-Well, fine," she muttered before glancing to him somewhat nervously. "But you can see my point, can't you?"

If her point was that she was worried about getting hurt by him, then yeah, he most definitely got it. And it sucked that Lucy felt that way, but Bickslow could see that it hadn't entirely been avoidable – not with the way they'd chosen to do things, anyway. But that didn't mean it wasn't fixable, because it was. He'd make sure of that.

Sighing heavily, Bickslow smiled softly as he fell back in the bed and pulled Lucy with him. "Yes, I can see your point," he said. "And if it makes you feel better, I will call my parents in the morning and tell them once and for all I'm _more_ than happy with the person I've chosen to be with, and that they have no place whatsoever in trying to control my life."

Lucy shrugged. "I guess that would make me feel a little better…" she mumbled.

"Good." With a quick press of his lips to hers, Bickslow was quickly jumping back out of bed. "I'll be back."

She sat up quickly with her brow furrowing as she watched Bickslow pick up the mac and cheese pillow from the end of the bed. "Wait, what? Where are you going?" she asked, though Bickslow was already out of the room and all she could do was collapse back into the pillow with a sigh.

Outside, just in front of his garage, Bickslow was only saying goodbye to the small pillow before lifting the lid of the rubbish bin and dropping it inside. He really did like the pillow – he thought it was cute – but he could see how Lucy wouldn't like it, even if she'd been the one to buy it. Of course, it wasn't like he was going to go and throw out every single item in his house that had anything remotely to do with Flare – like his lounge, for example, since she'd chosen it for him when he'd started renting the place – but a pillow he could definitely live without.

And sure, he did feel just a little weird doing it as well, because he'd never really thought Lucy cared all that much about things like that. But she did, and the last thing he wanted to do was screw things up with her. And if that meant throwing out a damn pillow, then he was going to throw out a damn pillow.

Once in bed again, Bickslow didn't waste any time in wrapping his arm around Lucy's waist after reaching over her to turn off the last of the lights in the room. "So… Are you going to tell me what that was just about?" Lucy asked.

Bickslow shrugged. "Just getting rid of things I don't need to hold on to anymore," he answered with a quick press of his lips to hers. "But hey, I was thinking…"

"Mm-hmm?"

"Maybe, when we go into work on Monday, we can, you know, set up a meeting with H.R." Even in the darkness of the room he could just make out the surprised expression on his girlfriend's face. And even if he hadn't been able to just see it, Bickslow at least expected it to be the face Lucy was giving him. "I mean, it's been a little while, and you know how they are about co-workers dating," he continued.

"You mean you… You want to tell work about us?" Lucy whispered.

He could hear the scepticism in her voice, and it didn't surprise him all that much, especially since it had mostly been his idea to keep things quiet for the time being. Now though, Bickslow didn't want to wait. Especially not if it would help Lucy see that he really was serious about her. "Of course I do," he said softly. "And we're going to have to tell them at some point anyway, so why not now? You know they're less likely to transfer either of us if we tell them now rather than later." And strangely enough, it wasn't even the first time Bickslow had thought about letting their work know they were dating. He'd been thinking about it for the last few weeks, because he'd been worried about what would happen. He figured the worst that would happen was one of them being transferred to a new branch, because they usually didn't approve of any relationships between co-workers.

Still though, even if he ended up getting transferred because of his relationship with Lucy, he'd survive. He liked his job, and he liked working with her, but he _loved_ being with her more than both of those things. But of course, Bickslow still hoped that telling their work that they were dating would just be all sunshine and rainbows, and he really did think that telling them sooner rather than later would go in their favour.

"I guess that's true," Lucy agreed quietly. And it wasn't like she was opposed to having that meeting with the human resources department of their company. It was just that she worried why Bickslow was suddenly wanting to. "But… You're not wanting to tell them just because of what happened tonight, are you? I mean, I'm… I'm okay. We can wait to tell them if you really want to."

He leant forward to press a soft kiss to what ended up being the _side_ of her mouth before answering, "Nope. I don't want to wait. I really don't. I want to tell the whole goddamn _world_ about us."

Lucy couldn't suppress the smile that spread across her face then. "So you really want to start telling people about us?" she whispered.

"Yup."

"Then I'm ready, too."

* * *

It was only a week later that Bickslow was heading out to a small diner a few blocks from his office to meet Flare for lunch. He hadn't talked to Flare at all since they'd really finalised their breakup three months earlier, but then he'd gotten a call from her the day after he'd taken Lucy to meet his parents, and they'd been organising a time for them to sit and talk, because it had become apparent that it was something they really needed to do.

He hadn't told Lucy about any of it. She'd been in the shower when Flare had called, and after the night they'd had, Bickslow really hadn't wanted to give Lucy a reason to worry unnecessarily. But he couldn't get rid of that sinking feeling of guilt in the pit of his stomach, and the minute he walked into that diner and saw Flare's unmistakable head of bright red hair, that feeling only got worse.

He made his way over to Flare's booth and sat down opposite her. "Hey…"

Flare smiled politely back to him, though Bickslow had known her long enough to know that it wasn't quite a genuine smile, and it stung if he was to be perfectly honest. "Hello, Bickslow," she replied.

Bickslow only cleared his throat with the pleasantries out of the way, and just began fiddling with the corners of the laminated menu in front of him. He knew that menu well, but apparently not even being in a place that he honestly loved going to was enough to make him comfortable. He knew why he was there to talk to Flare, and he knew that it was probably going to be for the better, but he still almost wished that he wasn't there.

Flare had known Bickslow long enough to know when he was uncomfortable, too, and she didn't blame him for that. She felt the exact same way. She didn't want to be there any more than he did, but she wasn't just going to sit there in silence and wait for Bickslow to say anything. There'd been just a few moments in their relationship where Flare had needed to be the one to speak up first, and right then was another one of those moments.

"Did you want to maybe order something?" Flare asked timidly. "Have you… Have you eaten yet? Are you hungry?"

He felt the corners of his mouth twitch and smiled softly for the barest of moments. If it was one thing Flare had always done, it was make sure he was fed. Really, he'd never quite understood it, but he'd also never complained. The woman could really cook. "I haven't eaten anything yet, no," he said quietly. "I think food would be good…" Besides, the diner had the best custard tarts in the whole wide world, and Bickslow could never say no to a good custard tart.

Looking at the menu, even though it hadn't changed a single bit in the last five years he'd been going there, Bickslow chanced a glance up to Flare opposite him. He wasn't feeling quite so uncomfortable now that the conversation had opened up a little, but that being said, he was at a loss for what he was supposed to say for the time being. "So…" He decided that the safest thing to do was start simple, so he asked, "How have you been?"

Flare smiled. "I've been good," she whispered. And it was the truth, for the most part. Of course, she'd been upset for the first couple of weeks after they'd called it quits, but she'd been expecting to be at least a little hurt simply because she really had believed that Bickslow would be the one she actually married at some point. She'd loved him, she really had. But it was because there was a part of her that still loved him that she couldn't bring herself to tell Bickslow that. She knew it would hurt him, and Flare wasn't interested in hurting anyone she cared about. That wasn't her anymore. "What about you?"

"I've, uh… Yeah, I've been good. I've been really good." Except as soon as the words had left his mouth, Bickslow couldn't help but feel strangely guilty. He saw through Flare, as he always did, so he knew that at the very least she was keeping the whole truth from him. With a gentle clear of his throat, Bickslow only looked back down to the menu to peruse some more.

After just another horribly silent moment, Flare finally found the courage to look up again and ask quietly, "And… And Lucy?" Bickslow flinched. "How's she?"

And as much as Bickslow had wanted to avoid talking about Lucy, he knew that it would've been damn impossible to do so. Not unless he avoided their lunch. "Lucy's good. She's good…"

Flare smiled meekly. "That's good," she whispered. After that, the waitress came to take their order, and they found themselves filling the time and silence with small talk. Flare asked about his job, Bickslow asked about hers, and they avoided the very reason they were meeting there at all entirely. But, it was only for so long they could avoid it, which was something they both knew, so when their order had been delivered and they began to silently eat, they both knew what was coming. "So… I take it things are going well with Lucy and you now?"

Bickslow nodded and returned the smile. "Yeah, they are," he answered. Though he felt guilty for saying the truth, just because he was well aware of who he'd hurt to get to that point. Still, things were great. They'd told their boss that they were dating at the beginning of the week, and so far it hadn't caused any problems at work. Natsu had even stopped giving him the death glare for the most part the last time he'd stayed the night at Lucy's.

As far as Bickslow was concerned, things were going perfectly.

Flare nodded. "That's good to hear… I'm happy things are well with you two." And it really was the truth, as painful as it was to admit that.

"That means a lot, Flare. Thank you."

She smiled softly again before ducking her head to return to her meal in front of her. "So your parents called me," Flare continued a few moments later, only glancing quickly up to Bickslow opposite her. "On Saturday night."

Bickslow sighed heavily as he brought his face down to drag his hands down the side of his face. "Yeah…" he groaned. That was something he already knew, but only because Flare had told him when she'd called him earlier. "I had no idea they'd do that. I'm so sorry for that." If he'd known that his parents were going to call his ex-girlfriend as soon as he'd walked out their front door, just to beg the woman to forgive him for being stupid, he would've made sure to ask that they _not_ call Flare. More fool him for believing his parents weren't total morons, Bickslow supposed.

"It's alright." If anything, Flare had found it a little amusing. She'd always found Bickslow's parents' love for her just a little odd, but getting called in the middle of the night to hear that they didn't like the man's new girlfriend was rather entertaining. But that was really just the smug side of her talking.

For the most part, she'd felt bad for Bickslow, because she imagined that it hadn't been easy for him to even introduce Lucy to his parents in the first place. Flare knew what they were like – even though they were far nicer to her than they were to their own son – and she knew that if Bickslow could've lived his life without doing them the _courtesy_ of introducing them to Lucy, he probably would've. Because to him, it was just that: a courtesy.

"You know, when they called me…" she began again softly. "I told them that things never would've lasted with us."

Bickslow only looked up to her in silent surprise. Regardless of it being the truth, he hadn't quite expected Flare to say it. He hadn't told his parents exactly what had happened, that he'd been the worst boyfriend ever and had been in love with someone else for most of his time with Flare. But after hearing that they'd called Flare, he'd only assumed that she would've told them the entire truth, that he'd _hurt_ her.

"I don't know what you told them, but I just… I wanted to tell the truth," Flare continued, looking down to her hands as she tapped her fingers together rhythmically. "And I… I really didn't want them to think that you'd had an affair with her or anything… Because… Because you didn't."

"Flare… You didn't need to do that…"

"I wanted to, though," she insisted. "I guess you just said that you weren't cheating on me or anything, but they didn't believe you, and I didn't think that was fair for you…"

"I figured as much," Bickslow mumbled dismally. He'd given up on trying to convince his moronic parents that he hadn't been seeing Lucy while still with Flare, and really, he'd stopped caring about what they thought, too. They would always (unfortunately) be his parents, but they had absolutely no sway in his life anymore. Of course, he'd have preferred it if they haven't ended up assuming the worst of him, and that they liked Lucy and hadn't gone calling Flare to try and get her to take him back, but Bickslow knew he couldn't have everything.

And still, all that really mattered to him at that point was that he was happy. "But… Thank you, Flare," he said. He moved his plate to the side of the table to leant forward slightly, and stared at his clasped hands before continuing nervously, "I mean, I know that I hurt you, I do, and… And I'm so incredibly sorry for that, I truly am. And I'm sure that all you wanted to do was tell my parents that I was an ass..."

Flare smiled softly. "Bix, I'd never do that."

"Well, at least you didn't say I'm _not_ an ass…" Bickslow muttered under his breath with a small sigh.

"Now _that_ would be a lie."

He laughed weakly at the obvious snark, and when Flare giggled quietly, Bickslow almost felt as if things really weren't as terrible between them as he assumed. Flare had always been brutally honest when she needed to be, but he'd always had thick skin and he'd always been able to handle her honesty when he'd needed it the most. That was part of why they'd worked.

But with how things had been left between them, after he'd been so stuck on the idea that Lucy was only ever going to be a friend, Bickslow relished that slight feeling of normalcy again.

"Still…" Bickslow continued again, "I wouldn't have blamed you for saying anything else to them. I mean, we're obviously on the same page with me being an ass and all, so I probably would've deserved you saying that – and, really, it's not like it would've been news to my parents or anything. I'm nearly thirty, and if my parents don't know I can be a bit of a dick by now, then they're probably never going to know…"

Flare smiled to herself again.

"But you could've told them anything you wanted to. You could've let them believe anything at all. I wouldn't have blamed you for it, not even a little bit," Bickslow said. "So… So thank you, really. Because I don't think I deserve anything from you apart from your hatred." As far as Bickslow was concerned, Flare telling the truth – that they really wouldn't have worked out, especially not with Lucy being his friend – wasn't what he'd deserved, because that was a kindness.

"Bickslow, that's not true," Flare whispered. "I wouldn't have done that, and I certainly don't hate you. You know that." Hate was a strong word, and Flare didn't believe there was anyone she hated. Not even Bickslow was someone she could hate.

He nodded "Well, I… I thank you for that."

"Any time."

Dinner that night would've been painfully silent had they not been watching a movie as they ate. Natsu had the evening shift at his job that night so it was just the two of them at Lucy's house, but for once, Lucy actually _wished_ Natsu was there. Natsu would've made things a little less awkward, no doubt.

* * *

Ever since Bickslow had gotten back from his mysterious lunch meeting he'd been acting strange, and Lucy couldn't help but worry that she'd somehow done something wrong. At the very least, she figured there was something he was keeping from her, and Lucy hated that. Was it too much for her to ask that they not keep secrets from each other? She only wanted Bickslow to know he could talk to her, and right then he wasn't.

He wasn't saying anything at all, and it was bothering her more than it should've.

But as much as Lucy wanted to try and talk to him, to see what had been on his mind all afternoon, she just didn't know how to. So for the time being, she just wasn't going to try and figure it out. She was just going to give Bickslow the benefit of the doubt like he deserved, and hope that he talked to her eventually.

Instead, she unfolded her legs from under her to stand, and asked, "I'm going to get some ice-cream. Do you want some?"

He looked up from the T.V. he'd been staring at with little interest and up to Lucy, where he only hesitated to give her an answer. "Um… No, thank you," he mumbled.

Lucy tried not to think much too much about his hesitation and just nodded before turning for the kitchen. Left in the living room by himself, Bickslow was becoming stuck in his own thoughts once again. He was still feeling guilty as all hell, and that guilt had only managed to grow once he'd left the diner and gone back to work. His lunch with Flare had gone surprisingly well after they'd moved past the awkwardness of it all, but it was the fact that he'd actually had a good time that made him feel worse.

Bickslow knew he should've told Lucy about seeing Flare. It would've been so much easier if he'd just been honest about it earlier, because at least then he would've been able to explain that it was really nothing at all to worry about. He should've told her when Flare had called him in the first place, instead of hiding it from her. Bickslow knew that now.

He could tell that Lucy thought something was different, too, so he knew that he had no choice but to tell her about his lunch with Flare. Just how he was supposed to do that, Bickslow wasn't quite sure, but he didn't want something like that to be the death of what he had with Lucy.

When Lucy came back with the bowl of strawberry ice-cream and sat herself down at the other end of the lounge, Bickslow knew that things really were bad. He couldn't actually remember them ever watching something on T.V. together without Lucy being tucked into his side – at least once they'd been dating, at least. And as much as Lucy seemed to want to just continue watching their show in utter silence, Bickslow didn't want to. So quickly, he was sitting forward to grab the remote from the coffee table and putting the T.V. on mute.

"What—"

"I saw Flare today," he confessed before Lucy could ask and before he talked himself out of it. "We… We had lunch."

Lucy slowly lowered her bowl of ice-cream to the coffee table as a sullen look fell on her face. "Oh… Okay…" she whispered.

Bickslow couldn't help but grimace. _This won't be a pleasant conversation_. "It… It wasn't anything, though," he tried to explain, though already, Bickslow worried that it would be pointless. Surely just _knowing_ that he'd seen Flare that day was enough for Lucy. "We just had some things to sort out, you know? Because… Because when we broke up, we didn't really talk or anything. It just… It kind of just happened and then that was it. All we did was talk though, I promise. I wanted to tell you about it earlier, but… But I knew you'd take it the wrong way, so that's why I didn't tell you when she called me last week…"

"She called you last week?" Lucy asked.

"You were, uh… You were in the shower, I think."

"Right, of course," Lucy murmured. She was beginning to wish that Bickslow hadn't told her about Flare right then, even if she suspected it was related to how strange he'd been acting all afternoon. She didn't like secrets, especially not from Bickslow, but she saw him not telling her the truth about his lunch meeting as a secret. And if Bickslow didn't trust her enough to tell her about his lunch with his ex-girlfriend, then maybe he didn't trust her at _all_. As far as she was concerned, people didn't keep secrets from the people they loved.

Suddenly, Lucy wasn't sure she wanted to stay up to hear whatever excuses Bickslow decided to come up with. "I, um… I think I'm just going to go to bed now and get an early night…" She picked up her unfinished bowl of ice-cream and slowly took it back to the kitchen. "I think it would be best if you stay at your house tonight…"

Bickslow knew not to push Lucy to hear him out, so he simply nodded and got up from the lounge to collect his belongings. "Right, yeah…" By the time he'd collected everything like his phone and keys, and put his jacket and shoes back on, Lucy was already waiting by the door, ready to see him off for the evening. Bickslow stood in the open doorway for an uncomfortably long and silent moment before he finally opened his mouth to speak again. "I'll, uh… I'll see you tomorrow then?"

Lucy nodded and gave a weak smile, although even if it was the first time she'd met his eyes in the last few minutes, Bickslow could see that it wasn't genuine. "Of course you will," she said.

"Well um… Goodnight then, I suppose." He briefly wondered if he should try and kiss her goodnight just like he usually did, but he realised that even that would've been pushing it. And as much as it hurt to be leaving things like that for the night, Bickslow knew that giving Lucy a bit of space right then was what she needed – and hopefully, it would be what _they_ needed to get back to how they'd been.

So just smiling gently, even though it went unseen by his girlfriend, Bickslow finally turned for the door, and only let out the sigh he'd been holding in once he heard the front door close behind him.

* * *

When the desk next to him remained empty well into the morning, Bickslow couldn't help but worry, especially after the way they'd left things the previous night. He'd worked with Lucy for so long that he knew how much she hated missing work, so Bickslow knew how she only missed a day if it was absolutely necessary. She'd joked more than once about how she could be an actual corpse and still probably go into work.

As soon as his day was over, Bickslow was packing up his things, switching off his computer, and rushing downstairs to jump in his car just to drive all the way across town to Lucy's house. Not even the nightmarish traffic that always occurred at that time of day could deter Bickslow from making the trip – not that he hadn't made it countless times before anyway.

After trying to get Lucy on the phone all day, Bickslow really just saw no other choice but to go and visit his girlfriend. He wished he could just leave it and not assume Lucy was wanting to avoid him, but… he just couldn't. Because he was just too worried she wasn't going to forgive him for something that he _knew_ he should've told her about in the first place.

When he reached Lucy's house at a little before 6 p.m., it was Natsu who greeted him at the door with a look of surprise. "Bickslow." Natsu blinked, ignoring the feline circling his feet and meowing up at him. "Why are you here?" he asked. Last he knew, Bickslow wasn't staying there that night – Lucy would've told him if he was, because she always did. And it wasn't normal for Bickslow to just stop by after work either, because their houses were on opposite sides of the city and it was a thirty minute drive in the best traffic, and getting good traffic in that city was a rare event.

"I… I wanted to talk to Lucy," Bickslow answered. "She's here, right?"

"Oh! Yeah! 'Course!" That made perfect sense to Natsu. He stepped out of the way to allow Bickslow to let himself in and close the door behind himself, and then stopped at the foot of the stairs to call out to his roommate. "Luce! Bix is here!" Natsu shouted before turning back to Bickslow to add, "She's probably just in bed, so you can go up there if you want."

Bickslow nodded. "Yeah, I think I might."

"Well, good luck," Natsu said with a shrug. He didn't give Bickslow a chance to ask just what he meant by that (or even tell the man that the second floor of the house had basically been quarantined to stop all of Lucy's horrible germs from spreading everywhere) before Natsu just turned, picked up Happy, and returned to the living room where he'd been eating his spicy ramen and watching Netflix in peace.

And with Natsu wishing him luck, Bickslow couldn't help but worry even more. He wasn't going to get anywhere by worrying though, so he swallowed the fear that was rising in him, and began to quickly climb the stairs two at a time. He rounded the top of them to head for Lucy's room, and bumped straight into her.

"Oh—Lucy!" He impulsively steadied her shoulders with his hands before she could fall – he'd bumped into her pretty hard. He frowned when he took her in though. Dressing gown on, hair tied loosely, nose red and eyes glassy. That… That was not what he'd expected to see. "Wait, are you… Are you okay?"

It took Lucy a second to process Bickslow suddenly being there and him speaking to her. "Hm? Oh, I'm okay." She gave him a tired smile before reaching into the pocket of her gown and grabbing the crumpled up tissue and wiping her nose with it. "What are you doing here?" she asked, stepping around him to head down the stairs.

"I, um… I came to check on you…" he mumbled. "Had me worried when you didn't come into work today…"

Lucy laughed weakly, sniffling again. It was a slow descent on the stairs, one where Bickslow followed her patiently as he took it one step at a time. "Sorry," she said. "Natsu convinced me to take the day off and get some rest for a change." It had been worth it, too. Sure, she still felt like crap, and her head was full of snot and mucus and everything ached, but she'd slept almost all day. Even still being exhausted, it had been more than five hours of sleep, and that Lucy always enjoyed.

"Right… But that's… That's the only reason you didn't come in today, right? Because you're sick?"

"Well, yeah…" She'd been tired and a little achey the night before, but when she'd woken up that morning, she'd felt like death.

"Not… Not because you're mad at me and trying to avoid me for what I did yesterday…?"

Lucy made a face at him, one between confusion and amusement. "What? No," she laughed weakly. It hurt her throat, but… No, Lucy wasn't mad at Bickslow for talking to Flare. A little disappointed that he hadn't told her beforehand, but she wasn't mad. She'd forgiven him for that already, just because she trusted him. If he said all they did was talk, well, she believed it. Mostly. "Bix, I promise you that I'm not avoiding you just because you had lunch with Flare. Come on."

"You sure?"

"Very."

Bickslow let out a sigh of relief. Knowing Lucy wasn't mad at him was so great to hear. But… Now he felt stupid as all hell. He'd legitimately believed that Lucy would take a day off just to avoid him, and in hindsight, Bickslow was realising that thinking that made him the most moronic person on the planet, as well as the worst boyfriend ever. He'd had absolutely no reason to doubt to Lucy, but he had.

He'd never felt so stupid in his entire life.

Quickly then, Bickslow was stepping forward and cupping Lucy's face between his hands and kissing the top of her head. He didn't give her a chance to yell at him about germs or him getting sick before he said, "Alright, you stay warm, and drink lots of water. I'll be back."

Lucy was left standing confused and half-asleep as Bickslow quickly left and slammed the front-door behind him in his sudden rush. Even Natsu called out, wondering just what was with Bickslow, but Lucy just didn't have an answer. So shrugging to herself, she fetched the glass of water she'd come down for, and took it back up to her room to curl up in bed again.

Thirty minutes later, Bickslow was returning and letting himself in with his key to rush straight up the stairs to find Lucy again. He barged into her room without a care in the world, already reaching into the plastic bag and beginning to pull items out one by one after dropping the bag on the end of Lucy's bed. "Bix, what are you—"

"Okay, so, I got tins of mushroom soup, because I know how much you love it for some ungodly and disgusting reason, and chicken soup, because that shit is amazing for colds and stuff," Bickslow began, ignoring Lucy almost completely as he went through the groceries he'd fetched. "And… tissues, because you can never have enough tissues, and these ones are eucalyptus or something, I think…"

"Um…"

"Oh, and some apple juice, too. Hot apple juice with cinnamon is actually really nice. I _live_ by this stuff when I'm sick. And there's some, uh… Oh! Some cold and flu tablets as well – the good kind as well. You know, the ones that knock you the fuck out so you can actually sleep… And—"

"Bickslow…"

"—some throat lozenges, just in case you needed those. And there's some—"

"Bickslow, please just shut up already," Lucy finally managed to say, and Bickslow looked at her like a lost puppy. Frankly, it was adorable. She pulled herself up in the bed, pulling the duvet and extra blanket up slightly and disturbing the piles of groceries now at the foot of her bed. "What's all of this for?"

"W-Well, you're sick, and… And I want you to feel better, of course," Bickslow answered sheepishly. Looking away, he added quietly, "That, and I'm feeling like a really shitty boyfriend right now, so this is me trying to make it up to you…"

Lucy giggled weakly, rolling her eyes and then patting the space on the edge of the bed just next to her. "Come here, you dork."

Bickslow hesitated for a moment. He didn't exactly want to get sick… But, well, he was probably going to get sick anyway. The house was just an incubator for gross, disgusting germs as far as he knew. After messily piling everything back into the bag, Bickslow walked back around the edge of the bed, and carefully sat himself down on top of the duvet next to Lucy, leaning against the headboard while twisting to keep his feet off the bed.

"Now, why are you feeling like a shitty boyfriend?" Lucy asked.

Bickslow shrugged. "Because I've _been_ one. Especially lately," he mumbled. "I let my parents treat you like crap, and… And I didn't tell you that I was having lunch with Flare, and then I genuinely thought that you hated me _because_ I didn't tell you…"

Lucy would've been leaning on Bickslow's shoulder and wrapping her arms around him had she not been all germy. She had to settle for nudging him with her elbow and giving him a kind smile. "You haven't been a bad boyfriend," she said. "You've just… You've made a few mistakes, that's all. That doesn't make you a shitty boyfriend, Bix."

She would've loved for Bickslow to have told his parents about her before they'd shown up for dinner and they'd ended up assuming the worst of her and insulting her every chance they got, but that wasn't entirely Bickslow's fault. She would've loved for Bickslow to have told her that he was meeting Flare for lunch, too, and she would've preferred Bickslow not having thought that she was avoiding him for seeing Flare. But none of that made him a bad boyfriend. So he'd made a few mistakes and a few misjudgements over the last few weeks. There was nothing wrong with that.

And besides, Lucy knew, that had things been the other way around, she probably would've been feeling the same way Bickslow did.

"You're just saying that 'cause you love me," Bickslow muttered before stealing a glance in Lucy's direction and asking cautiously, "Wait, you do still love me, right?"

"Just a little bit."

"Eh, I'll take it." As long as Lucy loved him a little bit, he'd be fine. With a sigh and another glance back to her, Bickslow was lifting his arms to quickly wrap them around her and pull her into his side, letting his chin rest on top of her head as he ran his hands up and down her arm.

Giggling, Lucy tried to free herself, only to have Bickslow hold her tighter. "You're going to get sick!"

"I'll be fine," he insisted. And even then, Bickslow didn't care if he got sick. "Besides, gotta keep you warm!"

"That might be the first time you've ever said that _without_ trying to have sex with me."

"Who says I'm not?"

Lucy rolled her eyes as Bickslow began to chuckle quietly at his own joke, ducking his head just to gently press a kiss to the top of her head. Sex was quite literally the last thing on her mind right then. That would just be gross with how sick she was. But, even if she didn't really need Bickslow warming her up right then, she would gladly take his cuddles for just a few more moments. She was undoubtedly just a little warmer with his arms around her.

Bickslow knew he couldn't stay there all night though, so when Lucy tried to free herself just a few minutes later, he lifted his arms back up so she could slide back down in bed and wrap herself up in her blankets again. "Do you want me to go make you something? Have you had anything to eat tonight?" he asked softly.

Lucy shook her head, sniffling. "Not since lunch, but I don't really feel like having anything right now."

"Are you sure? You need to eat, Lucy…"

She liked how much he worried sometimes. It made her smile softly up at him as he stood and began to pack the rest of it into the bag. "I'm sure. I'll get Natsu to make me something later if I have to," she whispered. Although if it was just soup, she could handle that herself, as long as she didn't fall asleep standing. For the time being though, she honestly just wasn't interested in eating anything.

"Well, alright then…" Bickslow mumbled. Part of him did want to stay and take care of Lucy himself, but he knew that wasn't necessary. She was a grown woman, capable of looking after herself when she was sick. Plus, she had Natsu, so Bickslow knew that Lucy would be fine. It was just a bit of a cold after all – no doubt something Lucy had in fact survived multiple times in her twenty-six years of life. With everything packed up again and off Lucy's bed, Bickslow walked back around to the side of the bed to lean down and press a gentle kiss to her forehead. "Don't come into work tomorrow, okay? Stay home and get some more rest. I'll call you at lunch to see how you're feeling."

Lucy nodded. "Okay," she whispered.

After hesitating for a moment, wondering if he'd just been imagining things or if her forehead really had felt just a little warm, Bickslow finally convinced himself to just leave land et his girlfriend get some rest so she could get better. "Remember to stay warm and keep hydrated though," he reminded her on his way out, catching the eye roll that Lucy tiredly managed to give him. "Love you, Sunshine. Get some rest."

"Mm-hmm… Will do…"

* * *

Four months into their relationship, Bickslow began to realise something was wrong.

And not in the earth-shattering, panic-inducing way. Wrong in the kind of way that just made it impossible for Bickslow to really forget about it, because it was just a feeling that was always _there_ and Bickslow didn't really know what he was supposed to do about it.

But it was at times like that, where they were sitting at his kitchen table, eating dinner together on the Friday night like they always did, that Bickslow was reminded of how something was wrong. Because it was mostly in silence, and it had been like that for weeks, slowly getting worse and worse until Bickslow was left having no idea what to actually say to Lucy.

He knew what the actual problem was, too. Although four months earlier, when he'd been so ridiculously happy from finally being able to be with Lucy and from realising that it had been _her_ all along, Bickslow never would've guessed that them spending so much time together would be the reason for them sitting in complete silence when they were alone. But that was the reason. They talked so much at work, sitting next to each other for eight hours a day, five days a week, that as soon as it was just them, they had nothing left to say to each other.

He couldn't even ask Lucy how her day had been, because he was always there. He _knew_ how her days were. He always did.

But, funnily enough, it was not knowing what else he could possibly say to Lucy anymore that had him quietly admitting that night, "…So I was thinking of looking for a new job."

Lucy choked, coughing on the pork and rice she'd decided to put in her mouth at the wrong time, it seemed. She hadn't been expecting Bickslow to say much of anything that night, not until they went to bed at least. But what he'd just said? She hadn't seen that coming at all. "W-What?"

He shrugged. "I've been thinking about quitting and finding a new job lately…" he mumbled. There wasn't really an easy way to say it.

"I… I see…" Lucy set her fork down on her plate and pushed it forward slightly; she'd suddenly lost her appetite for the evening. "Can I, um… Can I ask why?" she whispered.

Bickslow shrugged again, mindlessly stirring the food around on his plate. "Just feel like a change, you know?"

"But… I thought you liked your job…"

"I did. W-Well, I _do_ , but… I only stuck around because you started working there…" Bickslow mumbled. Before then, he'd been meaning to quit anyway. But then the girl with hair and a smile as bright as the sun had walked in and taken the empty desk next to his, and he'd had a reason to actually enjoy going into work every morning.

His job had never meant to be permanent, though. It had started as a randome internship right after he'd finished college, but six months later, he'd been offered a full-time position. And for the last eight years, he'd been stuck as a civil servant, and part of him had always hated it, just because it had never been part of his plan to stay for so long.

Bickslow felt terrible for even admitting to Lucy that the only reason he'd stayed there was because of her, and he felt even worse again when Lucy did her best to keep a straight face (not that she was ever very good, but she still tried) and excused herself quietly. He knew what it was about though; he knew that Lucy was thinking it was her fault that he wanted to quit. And, even if it was partly true, Bickslow just couldn't let Lucy believe that. It wasn't fair for her to blame herself.

He only let Lucy reach the bedroom where she was pulling out something to wear to bed, before he got up from the table to go talk to her again. He had some explaining to do, that was for sure.

"Lucy, come on. It's not what you think," Bickslow sighed.

She continued pulling out clothes until she had what she needed, before she pushed the drawer closed with her hip and gave Bickslow a small smile on her way to the adjoining bathroom. "I understand completely, don't worry," she said, and Bickslow could only sigh once more as he collapsed face down onto his bed to wait her out.

Really though, what was there not to get? Bickslow was sick of working with her and wanted to a find a new job. It was simple, really. That didn't mean she was fine with it though, because honestly, it hurt. And it hurt a lot. If he was already sick of sitting next to her each day, then what did that say about _them_? What was to say that Bickslow wouldn't be showing up at her front door in a few weeks' time, sitting her down and breaking her heart because he _felt like a change_. Hell, part of her was so sure it was bound to happen that she was almost tempted to just walk back out there and tell him to just get it over and done with; to just do it like he was pulling off a band-aid so she wasn't fretting for the next few weeks.

But, Bickslow still knew exactly what Lucy thought. Because it was always the same with her. She'd always been so positive and optimistic when it came to everything else in her life, and Bickslow had always loved that, but when it came to _them…_ All she'd ever done was doubt, mostly herself, and think the worst, mostly of him.

Bickslow had never really figured out just what it was he'd done to make Lucy always do that, but he also had no intentions of ever asking. He knew she'd just deny it because it was something that she probably didn't even realise she was doing.

Still, Bickslow couldn't just let Lucy think the worst of him, or that he was wanting to quit just because of her. He just couldn't do that. So when Lucy finally came out of the bathroom, face clean and hair down and pyjamas on, Bickslow only sat up and said, "Lucy, just hear me out and let me explain things. That's all I ask."

Lucy shook her head. "It's fine. You don't need to explain anything," she said. She tried to pull the covers back to get into bed, but she could only fold them back so far when Bickslow was in the way. "Can you please move?"

He stood up reluctantly, but then quickly snatched Lucy's pillows away before she could sit down. "You can have them back after you've listened to me, alright?" he said before Lucy could yell at him, and Bickslow knew that she'd been about to judging by the scowl she had on her face that sent a shiver down his spine.

"Fine," Lucy muttered. She sat herself down on the edge of the bed and crossed her legs under her. "Just hurry up then. I'm tired and want to go to bed."

Bickslow rolled his eyes and crouched down in front of her. "Alright, fine. I'll make it as quick as I possibly can," he began. Lucy nodded to herself once, then made herself more comfortable without her pillows – the ones that Bickslow was still holding. "Sunshine, look. I was going to quit before you started working there. I really was. I hated it there. It was only supposed to be temporary. But then I got stuck there for nearly four years, and then you came along, and I got stuck there for _another_ four years…"

"Sorry…" Lucy mumbled.

"It's not your fault. I chose to stay there because I liked working there after you started," he said. "But do you know how much I really miss being able to talk to you? About anything? Way too fucking much. Because we haven't been able to do that for a while now." Bickslow pointed back towards the bedroom door that led to the hall, and continued, "We do _that_. Every night we have dinner together, or even when you're here on the weekends, we sit in fucking _silence_."

"W-Well, we… We're together all day…" Lucy mumbled again, shifting uncomfortably then. "There's really not that much else to say to each other…" She wasn't completely oblivious to what had been happening. She'd just tried to ignore it and hope for the best.

"Exactly. And I don't know about you, but I really miss talking to you."

Lucy nodded, whispering, "I do too." But that didn't mean she was going to go and look for a new damn job – but then again, she'd always liked her job. Lucy lifted her head and looked up from her hands folded in her lap. "So you want to look for a new job," she said softly.

"Basically, yeah."

"Have you… Have you already applied for any?"

Bickslow shook his head. "I wanted to talk to you about it first." He knew that he at least owed her that, even if she wasn't the sole reason for that decision. Rising up on his feet, Bickslow dropped the pillows back down onto the bed and then sat down next to Lucy, tucking one leg under him so he could face her easier. "I don't want to quit just because I'm getting sick of you, Sunshine, because that is just so far from the truth that it just isn't even funny," he said softly. "I just… I really do feel like a change. I want to go and do what I went to _college_ for."

"So you finally want to become a teacher?" Lucy whispered.

"If I can, definitely," Bickslow said. He'd spent nearly four years learning how to be one, but he'd never gone into it after he'd graduated, because he'd wanted to just spend some time out of schools first. And then the rest… The rest of it had become history. But it had been more that eight years since he'd gotten his degree, and never once had he stepped foot inside a classroom. Bickslow really wasn't expecting much as far as that dream went, but he was still going to try.

And… As much as Lucy still thought that she was a bigger part of the decision than Bickslow was letting on, she knew she couldn't tell him to just stay at the job he had now and not look for another one. She didn't _want_ to, either. Lucy just wanted Bickslow to be happy, and if finding a new job was what would help him be happy, then she was going to do her best to support him.

So after a moment, Lucy shrugged and let out a heavy sigh, looking up to smile softly at him. "Well… If that's what you really want to do… Then I'll help you as much as I can," she said.

Bickslow quickly leant forwards to wrap his arms around her. "Thank you. I really mean that."

"I know you do," Lucy whispered. "And… If it means anything, I think you'll be a great teacher. You know, if you can find any openings as one… But I'm sure you will anyway."

He pulled back just enough to press a gentle kiss to her forehead. "Thanks, Sunshine."

* * *

Bickslow found a job sooner than anticipated. After just a few weeks of looking around for positions and applying for practically every single one he found, he had interviews scheduled, and then before long, he'd been getting a phone call from one of the schools he'd applied to and he'd been asked to start for the upcoming school year in just two months' time.

The only problem with all of that was that the school had been in Crocus. At first, Bickslow had only told Lucy that he'd been applying for local schools and positions, but there really hadn't been many going, so he'd expanded his search and started applying everywhere. For the most part, he hadn't expected much. But then he'd been offered the job and he'd had to tell Lucy, because it would involve him moving halfway across the country.

The time limit on it all hadn't made things any easier, either. After he'd been offered the job, he'd really only had a week to decide if he was going to take it, just because the school had needed to know whether they'd need to call in more people for interviews. Lucy hadn't taken it very well at first, which was exactly what Bickslow had expected. But after a few days, she'd eventually come around, and she'd only told Bickslow to follow his dreams. She'd known how much he'd wanted to take that job, and Lucy just hadn't wanted to be the reason he didn't take it.

Crocus was only really a four hour flight away anyway. There'd be nothing stopping her visiting on long weekends or on the holidays, and the same went for Bickslow. They'd make the whole long-distance thing work, just because they needed to.

So Bickslow ended up taking the job, and then with the help of Lucy, he'd found a small apartment close to the school he'd be working at, and sold off most of the furniture that he wouldn't be able to take with him. He'd be going from a three-bedroom house to a studio apartment, so it wasn't like he needed much furniture.

Before long though, Bickslow only had a week left before he moved up to Crocus and left his home behind. By that point, he was spending most of his time at Lucy's while he could still actually spend time with her, and his house had mostly been packed up anyway so there was really nothing there for him. But staying with Lucy more than he usually had just meant that when Natsu announced that he wanted to have his new girlfriend over for dinner to introduce her, Bickslow just happened to get the chance to meet her as well. Honestly though, he didn't really care, and Natsu knew it.

Still, he ended up having to cook dinner. Or, well, he cooked with Lucy, since Natsu was incapable of doing anything other than heating up a can of soup. But while Lucy worked on the dessert, a fruit tart specifically, Bickslow did the actual cooking, which left Natsu bouncing around nervously and excitedly all at once. It was fine as long as he stayed out of the kitchen.

At seven o'clock sharp though, the doorbell rang, and Natsu ran off to the door after Lucy told him he looked fine. "Still can't believe that moron actually has a girlfriend, to be honest," Bickslow mumbled. He knew that Natsu had been dating someone for the last couple of months, but he knew just as little as Lucy did.

"Oh, be quiet," Lucy giggled. "Be nice or I'll make you wear an apron for the rest of the night."

Bickslow knew exactly what apron Lucy was talking about, too. It was pink and frilly and it was really, _really_ horrible. "Yep, being nice it is."

Natsu finally walked back in then, his date following close behind him, and when Bickslow turned just as Lucy did, he was sure he felt all the blood drain from his face. Gone was his grin when Bickslow saw just who was standing next to Natsu.

"Luce, Bix. This is Flare," Natsu said. "Flare, this is Lucy and her—"

Flare placed a hand on Natsu's shoulder to stop him, saying softly, "Natsu, we've, uh… We've met before. It's okay."

Of all the people for Natsu to be dating though, it had to be Flare. Of all the fucking people in the world. Honestly, if Natsu was the one to make Flare happy, then Bickslow didn't really give a shit. But still, never in a million years had he expected to see her again. Not after they'd talked over lunch a couple months earlier. Bickslow had honestly expected that to be the last time they'd ever seen each other.

Now though… Now she was supposedly dating his girlfriend's best friend. It didn't matter that they'd left things on a reasonably good note when they'd last seen each other. Because right then, it was under completely different circumstances.

Lucy just didn't know what to say though. She couldn't even think of how Natsu and Flare had even met, but now her boyfriend's ex-fiancée was standing right in front of her, and Lucy just… She couldn't be there right then. "E-Excuse me…" she whispered after a moment, and after setting her glass of wine down back on the counter, she was quickly turning to go back to the hall and run back upstairs to her room.

Natsu was left the only one in the room who wasn't standing in awkward silence. And after Lucy left, he was only looking between Bickslow who was looking at the oven behind him with the chicken still cooking, and to Flare who was tapping her fingers together and looking down to her feet. "So you two know each other?" he asked. Neither of them were going to answer, it seemed, so he only asked, "How? Did you two go to college together or something?"

Well… It wouldn't really be right to keep it from Natsu. Even Bickslow knew that. Natsu knew he'd been engaged right before he'd started dating Lucy, though, because Natsu had been the one to comfort her whenever she'd needed it. But it was clear to Bickslow that Natsu had no idea just who he'd been engaged to, and even if Flare had brought up that she'd been engaged before, he doubted that she'd have actually said his name or anything. She'd had no reason to, because they'd both gotten on with their lives.

Still… A glance back to Flare standing beside Natsu had Bickslow realising that she wasn't going to answer it, either, which left him to do the job. So with a sigh, Bickslow just finally admitted quietly, "We were engaged, Natsu."

"Huh? You two? Really?" he asked. "I thought you were—Oh… You mean…" It was like a lightbulb went off in his head. He did know that Bickslow had been engaged before he'd started seeing Lucy. And he knew that the only reason that engagement had ended was essentially _because_ of Lucy. He'd heard all of that from Lucy months earlier. Natsu felt guilty as all hell as he turned to Flare beside him. "Oh, wow. I really didn't know…"

Flare shook her head. She knew Natsu hadn't known. It wasn't really his fault. They'd both been somewhat blind walking into that situation, because even if Flare had known that he had a roommate named Lucy, she certainly hadn't expected it to be the same Lucy that Bickslow had worked with for the last nearly five years. "It's okay. I know you didn't," she said softly. "I think I should just go though."

Bickslow certainly wasn't going to try and get her to stay. For the most part, he really just didn't care. But he also knew it wasn't his place to say anything. It wasn't his house. He was just as much a guest as Flare was right then. So, he left Natsu to deal with Flare, and he left the kitchen just as Natsu was telling her to stay, and went to go find Lucy.

He honestly had no idea what was going through Lucy's head, but he wanted to find out.

"Is this just the world's way of telling me I'm a horrible person?" Lucy said as soon as Bickslow had walked in and closed the door behind himself. "Because I already knew. I didn't need the reminder."

Bickslow let out a sigh as he stepped up to catch Lucy's arm, stopping her from walking around her room aimlessly. "You're not a horrible person," he said softly. "I don't why you'd even think that."

"Because I am. I… I mean, god, you could've been married by now, Bickslow. To _her_! I ruined that!"

"Lucy, you didn't ruin anything."

She pulled herself free just to sit down on the end of her bed, wrapping her arms around her own waist to keep her hands busy. "I did though," she whispered. And Lucy knew that Bickslow was happy with her. But she also knew he'd been happy with Flare, too. If it hadn't been for Flare breaking up with him when she had, then who knows what could've happened. As far as Lucy was concerned, the two of them would've gotten happily married just as they'd planned. And Lucy had ruined that. "I broke you two up. You would've still been with her if it weren't for me. God, I'm… I'm the _other woman_." And Lucy had never really thought of herself as that, just because that would require Bickslow to have been seeing her when he'd still been seeing Flare… But that night, that was what she was.

Bickslow had to stop himself from rolling his eyes as she sat down beside her. "Sunshine, I can guarantee you that you aren't even close to being… _that_." He really had no idea where that was coming from. "And I promise that you didn't ruin anything. You didn't do anything, Lucy. Stop thinking that."

"Even if I didn't do anything, that's what Flare will think. _She_ was happy, Bickslow. I took that from her."

Well, that much, Bickslow couldn't really argue with. She had a point. But, Bickslow knew that Flare didn't hate her. Or, at least Bickslow didn't _think_ she did. "You didn't take it from her," he whispered. "And you do remember that _she_ broke up with _me_ , right?"

"Only because you were just being an idiot about it all…"

"Well, yes… But… Lucy, Flare knew things wouldn't work. And, I'll admit, that it is kind of because of you—"

"See! Even you say it's my fault," Lucy shouted.

"Let me finish, alright?" he said. Lucy shrugged a little and looked back down. "But, she knew, okay? She knew that it wouldn't work. She knew she wasn't going to be happy with me, and she knew I wasn't going to be either. She did the _best_ thing she could've done, Lucy." He lifted his arms to wrap them around Lucy's shoulders and give her a gentle squeeze before continuing softly, "Because it let me realise how much I love _you_ , and… Well, it let her start dating Natsu. Which, really, makes no fucking sense. But maybe he's the one that makes her happy."

"I… I don't know…" Lucy murmured. "I still feel horrible for everything."

"Well, you shouldn't."

She still supposed it was the world's way of telling her she was a terrible person. That, and it was probably her own fault that she'd never really asked about Natsu's new girlfriend. He'd talked about her a few times, but she'd really just been too busy with helping Bickslow get ready to move that she just hadn't really thought to ask him about her.

There was a gentle knock on Lucy's door before it was pushed open and Natsu peeked his head through. "Flare wanted to leave but I asked her to stay…" he said softly. "Is it okay if she does?" Flare had said to him that she would only stay if Lucy and Bickslow agreed to it, and as much as Natsu wanted her to stay, just because he really, _really_ liked her and he'd been looking forward introducing her to Lucy, the last thing Natsu wanted was to make his best friend more uncomfortable than necessary.

Lucy hadn't really thought about Flare still staying, to be honest. But she looked up to Bickslow just to see what he thought, and he only shrugged and said, "It's up to you, Lucy. It's your house." He could deal with Flare anyway. It was Lucy he was worried about.

"I guess she can stay then…" Lucy mumbled. She wasn't completely fine with it, because the idea of sitting across from someone who could very hall hate her entire existence really just made her feel sick. But… She'd do it for Natsu. "We have all that food anyway…"

Lucy had never had a dinner so quiet. Not even with Bickslow when they'd had literally nothing to talk about. The sound of forks and knives scraping on plates was the only thing heard at the dining table, and Lucy was so close to just bursting out in tears that it wasn't even funny anymore.

At one point, Flare had tried to lighten the mood by complimenting the chicken, but it had backfired when Lucy had quietly admitted that Bickslow had cooked it.

But, out of everyone at that table, it was Natsu who hated the silence the most. He'd invited Flare over because he thought it'd be a good night. And when he'd asked her to stay, he hadn't expected everyone to be as quiet as the dead just because they were all too scared to talk to each other.

"This is bullshit!" he shouted suddenly, dropping his cutlery down onto his mostly empty plate. "Are none of you going to talk to each other? Seriously?"

Bickslow only grimaced while Flare kept chewing quietly and Lucy visibly tried to sink down in her chair.

Natsu pouted, crossing his arms over his chest. And people thought _he_ was the childish one. As far he was concerned, it was everyone else who were acting like children right then. None of them were making an effort to so much as _look_ at each other.

But, since no one else was making an effort, Natsu took it upon himself to. He wanted people to talk to each other, damn it! No one liked a quiet dinner. It was uncomfortable. So, Natsu looked at each of them for a moment to try and figure out what he could say to break the silence, and after coming up with nothing for Flare or Lucy, he settled on Bickslow. "You know Bix is moving to Crocus next week?" he announced.

"Natsu!" Lucy hissed. It wasn't like it was a great big secret, but it also hadn't really been Natsu's place to say anything.

Flare finally looked up, asking softly, "Crocus? What for?"

"I, uh…" Bickslow cleared his throat quickly. "I got a teaching job there. I'm teaching the fourth grade."

"Oh. Well… Well I'm sure you'll do great things there. I'm happy for you," Flare whispered.

Bickslow nodded. "Thanks."

"Luce isn't moving," Natsu decided to chime in, failing to notice how Lucy only tried to sink down even further and tried to make herself as small as possible. "She's going up there next week, but only to help Bickslow move. I guess they're doing the whole long-distance thing now. I don't really see how it'll work, but whatever."

Flare noticed how irritated Lucy was becoming though, and she didn't really blame her. Natsu could be oblivious sometimes, as Flare had come to learn. And honestly, part of her wanted to strangle Natsu herself right then, but she figured it was wiser to let Lucy do it later. "I, for one, think you'll work out if you really want it to," she said. "Crocus is only a short flight away anyway. Long-distance relationships are manageable if you put the effort in."

Bickslow reached under the table to squeeze Lucy's hand gently. Sure, hearing it from Flare problem wasn't that helpful, but Bickslow knew that Lucy still had a few doubts about whether things would work out with them being apart.

Lucy just let out a quiet sigh, nodding to herself and forcing a small smile. It wasn't lost to her that everyone else was trying to make an effort to make things less uncomfortable. Even Flare was trying – and why, Lucy really wasn't sure, but it was still a whole lot more than she was doing herself.

Still, maybe it meant Lucy had to try as well. That was the least she could do. So she looked up again finally, and glanced to Natsu before looking back to Flare and asking quietly, "So, um… How did you two meet?" Because that was a story Lucy definitely wanted to know.

* * *

Lucy was tired when she arrived home from work that night. She hadn't left the office until eight, having been busy working on a new project with some colleagues, and after picking up some dinner on her way home, it was already nine o'clock.

She was already pulling her ballet flats off her feet as she walked up her front path towards the door, holding them under her arm against her side as she managed to unlock the door while holding her purse and take-out bag in her free hand.

Natsu had the night shift that week, so Lucy already knew not to expect anyone other than Happy to greet her. Despite that, the dark and silent house that awaited her only had her letting out a small sigh. She wasn't always the most comfortable when she had the house to herself at night. It was part of why she'd lived with a roommate for so long. But Natsu was at work, and Bickslow was all the way on the other side of the country. Lucy was just hoping it would get easier, because the last few weeks hadn't been the best.

She didn't even bother changing out of her work clothes before she sat herself down at her small dining room table and opened up the paper bag with her dinner for the night. It wasn't anything special (or healthy), just an aioli wrap that she always asked for extra aioli on, and the largest serving of fries they sold.

Lucy mindlessly checked the missed notifications on her phone as she ate. Most of them were just event invitations online, or Natsu tagging her in stupid pictures. She had a few emails that would probably just get deleted or moved to her junk folder. But there was a message from Bickslow as well, and Lucy instantly felt the guilt sink in as she read the words at the bottom of the screen.

 _Got an early start tomorrow, so I'm heading to bed. We'll try again tomorrow. Miss you._

She hadn't had the time to talk to him that night. She usually called him as soon as she'd finished work for the day. Some days she didn't even wait to get home, and instead just sat in her car in the carpark. Crocus was ahead by a few hours, so it was convenient for Lucy to call him when she finished work. Bickslow was usually just settling down for the night and getting ready for the next day. But that night, Lucy just hadn't had the time to do so. It had already been ten thirty by the time she'd been leaving work, so she knew it would be close to midnight there now.

It was in moments like those though, that Lucy missed Bickslow the most. They were still just getting into some kind of routine of finding time to talk to each other still. Bickslow's first week in Crocus had been a disaster as far as them talking to each other went. He'd just been so busy with adjusting to his new life as a fourth-grade teacher that he'd simply forgotten to call Lucy and ask how her day had been. The second week had been a little better, but it had taken until Bickslow's third week in Crocus for them to get into some kind of routine.

Lucy had known that things would be a little difficult, and that it would take some getting used to, but sometimes she couldn't help but wonder if it was worth it. The fact that she knew Bickslow was doing something he'd wanted to do for a long time was what made her happy, though. He was finally following his dream, and that… That was a good thing. Lucy didn't want to get in the way of that.

She dusted the salt from the fries off her hands just to type out a quick response. She suspected Bickslow would already be fast asleep by then so he wouldn't hear the message tone.

 _Tomorrow it is. I miss you too. Sleep well._

After finishing off the rest of her dinner while playing some annoyingly addictive pairing game on her phone, Lucy got up from the table to clean up her rubbish. She had a few dishes from breakfast to do as well, so she decided to quickly do those instead of letting them pile up some more.

She'd just started filling the sink when she heard the doorbell. She thought it was odd to have a visitor that late, and part of her was definitely considering just ignoring it and hoping the person would go away. But, she stopped filling up the sink and went to go check the door anyway. She was curious.

When she looked through the glass peephole, Lucy expected to just see one of her neighbours – the old woman next door was always bringing her an apple pie. Instead, Lucy saw the distorted image of Flare waiting patiently outside.

She'd visited a couple of times since the dinner they'd all had together. Each time she'd been there, Lucy had just retreated upstairs to avoid her. That, or she'd gone out, claiming she had groceries to pick up at seven o'clock at night. Natsu had called her out on it twice before, but Lucy simply didn't know what else to do.

Still, Lucy wasn't sure what to think of Flare visiting right then. It was a little late to be making house calls.

She unlocked and opened the door to her roommate's girlfriend. "Flare. It's, um… Surprising to see you…"

"Good evening, Lucy," Flare greeted her with a small smile. "Sorry to visit so late. May I come in…?"

"Uh, yeah, sure," Lucy mumbled. "Natsu's not here tonight though. He's got the night shift until Monday."

"I know." Flare looked down to her hands as she tapped her fingers together nervously. "I came to see you."

"…Oh." That was the last thing Lucy had been expecting. It also scared the living shit out of her, because she was honestly terrified to find out why Flare would even want to visit when she knew full well that Natsu wouldn't be there. Lucy wasn't going to be rude and give her some excuse to get her to leave though. She also knew she couldn't say she had some last-minute groceries to go and buy either. Instead, Lucy just quelled her fear and invited the woman in. "Well, uh… Do you want to sit? Do you want some coffee or anything? Water? Anything?"

"I'm fine, but thank you."

Lucy nodded and she led them into the lounge room off to the side of the entry hall. She sat awkwardly at one end of the sofa while Flare made herself equally as awkwardly uncomfortable down the opposite end. Lucy fought the urge to bite her nails – a nervous habit she'd picked up as a teenager. It was so silent in the room though, that Lucy could hear the decorative clock on the shelf ticking away. It was slowly driving her insane.

"So, uh, how have you—"

"How's things with—"

Lucy's face went beet red, but Flare was feeling just as embarrassed as Lucy was judging by the shade her own face was. "Sorry, you go," Lucy said.

"How are things with Bickslow?" Flare finally asked.

Lucy wanted to sink into the lounge cushions. _Of course she would ask about Bix_. What else was there anyway? He was really all they had in common… Well, apart from Natsu, of course. Sort of. "They're um… They're fine, I guess," Lucy mumbled. Like she'd actually tell her boyfriend's ex-fiancée that she sometimes hated how he was in Crocus.

"I'm glad."

Lucy honestly doubted that, though. "How are you and Natsu doing, then?"

Flare shrugged. "He's a handful, which I'm sure you already know, but that's okay. I think… I think things are going okay." She thought his occasionally stupidity was charming, and he was sweet and funny and Flare just really liked that.

Natsu really didn't talk much about Flare. Lucy found it a blessing, but she was happy that things were going well. Natsu deserved to be happy, and so did Flare, if Lucy was honest. Still though, Lucy was still uncomfortable right then. She was so uncomfortable that she couldn't stand to just sit there and try and be interested in the small talk. She wanted to know why Flare was really there – what she'd really wanted to talk to her about. And part of Lucy was scared of actually knowing what the answer was, but she knew that she needed to ask.

"Flare, why are you here?"

She looked back down to her lap where she was tapping her fingers together again. Even Flare knew they couldn't just do the whole chit-chat thing for long. Even then, she hadn't wanted to. Talking to people wasn't her forte. Anyone who knew her well knew that.

Still, she wanted to make an effort then, because she figured it would be worth it.

Softly then, Flare said, "I get the impression that you don't really like me…"

"That's… That's not true," Lucy mumbled.

"You don't have to lie to make me feel better, you know."

Lucy shifted uncomfortably. "It's not really a lie…"

"At the very least, you're not comfortable around me. Or about the idea of me, I suppose," Flare said.

"Because I know you hate me," Lucy said softly. She was a horrible liar so she wasn't even going to try. That didn't mean she was okay with the conversation she was presently having, because it made her feel terrible.

"I don't hate you. Why would I hate you?"

"Because… Because of Bix… And how I'm the reason that you broke up with him…"

Flare shrugged. She'd always known that was the root of the problem. She'd always expected Lucy to be at least a little uncomfortable by it all, too. But back then, Flare hadn't expected to ever really speak to Lucy. The fact she'd started dating the woman's roommate had purely been a coincidence. "I don't hate you, Lucy," Flare repeated. She wouldn't deny that Lucy was essentially the reason, but she wasn't blaming her or resenting her for it.

Even with Flare telling her that she didn't hate her, Lucy still didn't believe it. "Well… You should," she mumbled. "That still doesn't really explain why you're here, though."

Flare thought it had been obvious. Perhaps not. She gave another shrug before she answered, "Well, I guess it's because I don't want us to be uncomfortable around each other." She didn't really see a benefit in them permanently being awkward around each other, simply because they'd both dated the same person. "I don't want you feeling like you need to leave just to avoid me whenever I'm here, too."

"…You noticed that, huh?"

"It wasn't subtle."

Lucy let out a quiet sigh. She wasn't sure it would be that easy to just stop feeling so horribly uncomfortable around Flare. It wasn't like she wanted to feel that way, but she did. She didn't really care what Bickslow or even what Flare said – Lucy still knew that she'd ruined what could've been a perfectly wonderful, long-lasting relationship. And the fact that she was _happy_ with Bickslow just made her feel selfish. It didn't matter that it had been accident, and that she really hadn't had a clue how Bickslow had felt before things had ended with Flare. Lucy just still felt selfish.

So as far as Lucy could tell, until she stopped feeling horrible for what her existence alone had caused, she knew she'd still be uncomfortable around Flare. She didn't want to be, but she would. And now knowing that Flare didn't want that, it just made Lucy feel worse.

"I don't know, Flare…" she mumbled, looking down to her hands folded over her knees. "I mean, it would be nice if it was that way, I guess. But I just… I don't know…" She didn't know if she'd ever be able to be comfortable around Flare.

Flare nodded solemnly. "That's okay." She hadn't been expecting much anyway. She was mostly just glad they'd been able to talk at all, and at the very least, be able to tell Lucy that she really didn't have any problems with her. She still had her own discomfort for work on, but there wasn't much she could do if Lucy was still going to try and avoid her all the time.

Flare just hoped that things would improve.

Rising from the sofa, Flare forced a small smile as she looked back down to Lucy still sitting at the end. "Sorry for stopping by so late," she said softly. "I appreciate you talking to me, though. I know it's not easy for you when I'm here."

"It's fine…" Lucy mumbled. She knew she had to at least tolerate it anyway, especially if her and Natsu were going to last.

"Well, thank you anyway."

* * *

"So, come on, tell us about yourself."

Bickslow shrugged as he lifted the amber bottle to his mouth and took a sip of his drink. It was a crappy brew and it was warm, but it beat drinking water so he was tolerating it. "Nothing much to tell," he said. His colleagues around him at the booth groaned and rolled their eyes at him.

He hadn't really wanted to go out with them all that night, but they'd been asking him to join them every single Friday since his first week at the school. _'Us guys have gotta stick together!'_ was what they'd eventually gotten him with that Friday afternoon – not because he genuinely believed it or cared, but because he'd gotten sick of them always trying to get him to go out drinking with them.

Still, it had taken Bickslow three full weeks to learn the names of his students. And after eight weeks, he still barely knew the names of the colleagues that had been hounding him to go out. And when they sat there, half of them already tipsy after just two mid-strength beers, asking him to tell them about himself, Bickslow really just wondered _why_. Because he certainly had no interest in learning about _them_.

"Oh, please. There's plenty to tell," the one with the green hair tied into a high pony-tail said – Bickslow thought his name was Freed.

He disagreed with a shrug.

The larger one, the blond – Laxus, Bickslow thought – nudged Bickslow's arm. "He's right," Laxus said. "Like… What's your favourite type of music?"

"Uh… I don't really know," Bickslow mumbled. "I don't listen to much of anything."

Laxus frowned. He didn't know what he'd do without his headphones.

The third one sitting opposite Bickslow – he was pretty sure his name was Gray or something – nodded towards his hand resting on the table. "You're not married," he guessed.

"Not everyone is into marriage, Gray," Laxus mumbled.

Gray rolled his eyes before he replied, "And it's not my fault Fiore's laws stop you and Freed from getting married, so quit being salty. I was making an observation, ass-hat." Gray didn't really know why it hadn't been legalised, but he was just a lowly teacher. There wasn't anything he could do about it. Still, all he'd been doing was making an observation. Laxus just unfortunately happened to get a little sensitive about certain issues when he'd been drinking.

Bickslow grimaced before taking another sip of his warm beer and then answering awkwardly, "Well, uh… No, not married." He wanted to be, but… No, he wasn't there with Lucy yet.

"Divorced?"

"…Nope."

"Well, are you seeing anyone then?"

"…Yes, actually. I am."

"Are you going to tell us about them then?" Laxus asked.

Bickslow shrugged. He really didn't understand the interest in his love life (or in his life in general), but there still wasn't that much to say. "Probably not, no," he said.

"How come?"

"Because there's not much to tell," Bickslow answered. "She lives in Magnolia, so we're not really talking a lot these days." It was unfortunate, but that was the way it was. They usually only called each other every second night those days. They were trying to find a time to visit each other, though. They were just stuck on deciding whether Bickslow went back down to Magnolia, or if Lucy visited him in Crocus.

"Oh. Did you two meet online then?" Freed asked. "I hear that's common these days."

Bickslow shook his head. "I used to work with her before I moved up here and started teaching."

"Oh, that's right!" Laxus nudged Bickslow's arm again. "I remember that old bastard mentioning you'd just moved up here." It had been in the staff meeting on the first day of school, when the principal had introduced the new fourth-grade teacher. "How's that going for you anyway?"

"Huh?"

"You know, living here."

"Um, fine, I guess…" Bickslow mumbled. It wasn't like he went anywhere other than his apartment, the school, or the grocery store. So far, Crocus was fine.

Laxus sighed and shook his head. "You're not very talkative, are you?" he grumbled. "You gotta talk more, man."

"Ignore him," Freed said. He knew Laxus to be more chatty and annoying than usual when he'd been drinking – he was mostly a polar opposite of his usual self when he'd been drinking. But if it wasn't clear to Laxus that their new colleague was just a little uncomfortable with the conversation topic, it was clear to Freed. It was probably clear to Gray, too, but he was always one for listening rather than actually partaking in conversation anyway. "How are you students doing?" Freed decided to ask. "I had that particular group last year. Is Brayden still causing trouble at every turn?"

"Oh, you have _no_ idea," Bickslow mumbled. The kid was his worst nightmare. But Bickslow would take talking about the child that could almost put him off having his own children one day over talking about his relationship any day of the week.

* * *

Lucy had barely been home for an entire day after visiting Bickslow in Crocus over Christmas before she'd been answering a knock at her front door to find a somewhat anxious Flare. Natsu was at work again, but Flare would've known that so Lucy couldn't help but assume Flare was actually there to see her once again.

"Are you okay?" Lucy asked as she moved out of the way to let Flare into the hall. "You look a little… worried." She wasn't really sure what it was, but she could tell something was bothering Flare, and that concerned Lucy.

"I, um… I am," Flare said softly.

"What's up then? Natsu didn't do anything stupid, did he? Because I'll murder him if he—"

"Natsu didn't do anything. Well, not really…"

That just worried Lucy even more. Her roommate was prone to doing moronic things, even when he had the best of intentions. Even if she still wasn't all that close to Flare – they were really only just getting to the actual _friend_ stage – she still didn't want her getting hurt or anything, especially not by Natsu.

"Oh. Well, uh… What's wrong?" Lucy asked. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. I mean, I know we're not really close or anything, but… You can talk to me if you want to." She got the impression that whatever was bothering Flare wasn't something small, so she assumed there'd be the issue of trust to deal with. But still, it wasn't like Lucy talked to anyone else anyway. The only people she talked to those days were Bickslow, Natsu, and Cana at work.

Of course though, trust wasn't an issue for Flare. She'd visited Lucy for a reason, and that was because she'd wanted her advice. She considered Lucy a friend anyway – granted, not a close one, but a friend nonetheless.

Looking down to the pattern on her skirt, Flare was quiet as she finally said, "It's just that… You know Natsu far better than I do, and… And I wanted to know what you thought his reaction would be to something…"

Lucy hesitated, tilting her head slightly as she watched Flare for a moment. She would argue that there were many things Flare knew about Natsu that Lucy didn't, but Lucy didn't think that was important right then. What was important, was _why_ Flare would be worried about Natsu's reaction to something, and what that something was. Although as vague as Flare was _trying_ to be, it really wasn't working. Lucy could really only think of one thing she'd be worried about.

"You're pregnant, aren't you?"

Flare only gave a small nod.

It wasn't like she'd meant for it to happen. She hadn't wanted it to happen, either. But it had, and now she wasn't entirely sure what to do. She'd really only been with Natsu for a little over six months, and while she loved him (something she also hadn't quite been expecting so soon), she wasn't convinced that a child was a good idea right then.

She was completely terrified of telling Natsu, too. Flare didn't know if he would be happy or if he'd be mad at her. She didn't even know if he wanted kids at all.

But Lucy would know, or at least Flare thought she would. Lucy had known Natsu since they'd been in school together. She'd be a far better judge of Natsu's reaction.

Naturally though, it had really been the last thing Lucy had been expecting to hear. She'd guessed it, sure, but it was still a surprise. And for the most part, she could understand why Flare was so worried. Lucy would be feeling the same if she was the one who was pregnant – and thankfully, she wasn't. Granted, she probably wouldn't have gone to Flare to see what she thought Bickslow's reaction would be, because she was still half convinced the woman hated her, but Lucy would still very much be worried.

Lucy didn't think Flare had much to be concerned about though, not as far as Natsu went. He'd probably be thrilled. "Well, if it makes you feel any better," Lucy finally said, "I doubt Natsu will freak out much."

"You think?" Flare whispered.

"Okay, so he probably will freak out, but… In a good way. I think he'll be pretty excited, to be honest."

That was more than relieving to Flare. She was still worried, but not quite as much.

"What about you, though?" Lucy asked then. The soft smile on Flare's lips faltered for a moment. "How do you feel?"

Flare shrugged. She'd been so worried about how Natsu would react that she'd barely even thought about how _she_ felt about it. "I don't really know," she admitted. She kind of wanted it to be a good thing, or at the very least she hadn't wanted it to be a _horrible_ thing. Lucy saying that Natsu would be happy about having a baby had her leaning towards the thought that it would be okay, but for the most part, she didn't know yet.

The sound of a car pulling into the driveway just outside interrupted Flare's thoughts and the conversation. Lucy got up to peer through the blinds at the front of the room. "It's Natsu," she mumbled. She'd only been back since the middle of the morning, but she knew Natsu shouldn't have been home until later that evening.

Lucy went to open the door when she saw Natsu walking up the path. "You're back early," she said as she pulled the door open for him. Natsu grinned as he saw her.

"Yeah. Toto's covering the end of my shift today, and then I'm covering his tomorrow so he can go to some appointment," he explained. It was a little awkward, but Natsu didn't really care much. It meant he got the rest of that afternoon off, and that was always good, especially when Flare was there. He dropped his gym bag with his clean clothes down onto the floor just to go and finally greet his girlfriend sitting on the lounge. "Flare! What are you doing here?"

"Oh, you know… I just thought I'd stop by to talk to Lucy for a bit…" she said quietly. It wasn't like it was a lie.

Natsu sat down and quickly wrapped his arms around Flare. He was so glad that Lucy had become close to Flare lately. He knew it was still awkward, but it was better they were friends. "That's awesome!"

Lucy decided to take that as her cue to leave. "I'm, uh… I'll just be upstairs if you need me for anything…" she announced as she pointed for the stairs behind her. Whether or not Natsu heard her was going to remain a mystery, but she knew Flare had heard her.

She barely had the chance to wonder if Flare would even tell Natsu that she was pregnant right then, before Natsu came running up the stairs to announce that Flare was having a baby. It had probably been the happiest Lucy had ever seen him, too, and Lucy couldn't help but smile softly to herself as she went about sorting out her washing from her trip to Crocus.

* * *

Lucy returned from her meeting with the higher-ups to find a round box filled with yellow and white flowers. She didn't even need to read the small card she saw peeking out from the top of the bouquet to know that it was from Bickslow. Although why Bickslow had sent flowers to her work, Lucy really had no idea. Valentine's Day had been the week before, so it couldn't have been for that.

"The lady from the reception brought these up for you," Juvia said as Lucy sat down at her desk. Juvia had started not long after Bickslow had left. And, naturally, she wasn't quite as fun to work with as Bickslow had been, but Lucy still liked her new colleague. "She said the card was a little… _risqué_ … But I didn't read it."

Lucy rolled her eyes. Trust Cana to snoop through it. But really, Lucy didn't care much. She also knew for a fact that whatever was written in the card attached to the flowers, it was definitely safe for prying eyes to read. Bickslow would've made sure of that, especially knowing that Cana would've wanted to read it anyway.

"Cana was probably just lying to have a bit of fun," Lucy sighed. "She's like that sometimes." She was completely harmless though. Moving the flowers to the side so she could get back to the keyboard, Lucy plucked the small card from the plastic holder and read it quickly. She couldn't help but giggle as she showed it to Juvia who was only giving her a questioning look. "You can read it if you want to. It's honestly fine."

Juvia had been a little curious about it, so she took the card just to read the words printed in the middle. " _Cana, fuck off and mind your own business_ ," she read slowly. " _Sunshine, have some flowers that aren't half as pretty as you are, because I love you and miss you all the time_."

"So very _risqué_ ," Lucy giggled.

"I think it's sweet," Juvia said. Well, she thought most of it was. She reached across their desks to put the card back in the plastic holder in the bouquet. "I didn't know you were seeing anyone though."

"Mm-hmm. We've been together for nearly a year now." Although at that point, Bickslow had been in Crocus for close to half of the time they'd actually been together. It wasn't easy, but they were still working with it. But it would be a year in just a few more weeks, and sometimes Lucy had a hard time believing that it had already been that long. "He lives in Crocus though, so I don't get to see much of him these days."

"Oh! Is he the one who used to sit at this desk?" Lucy nodded. "I've heard about him," Juvia said. Just bits and pieces really. She'd been curious about whose shoes she'd been filling, so she'd asked around. Everyone had just said it was some guy who was teaching in the capital now.

"Only _good_ things, I hope."

Juvia shrugged. "I suppose. Although Erza did say that he managed to set the microwave on fire once."

"Oh… Ah, yes, that did happen." It had been right before she'd started, but she'd been told that same story. He'd been banned from the kitchen for the next six months though, which had ended up with Lucy making him coffee and heating up his lunch for the first four months of her working there.

"Well, I still think it's sweet. And the flowers are lovely."

"I think so too."

* * *

"Are you staying for dinner tonight?" Lucy asked as she hauled the grocery bags out of the boot of her car.

Flare grabbed her purse before reaching for the remaining bags. "Probably," she answered. "Natsu said he wanted to talk about baby names when he gets home from work…"

"Well, at least he's taking an interest in it all," Lucy laughed.

"That's true… But I didn't expect him to be like _this_." She was barely hitting fifteen weeks. They didn't even know if it was a boy or a girl yet, and already, Natsu was going on about baby names. He'd even brought home a newborn onesie a few weeks earlier. And sure, Flare thought it was adorable, but Natsu was kind of going overboard.

Even Lucy had noticed it, but it wasn't her place to say anything so she kept her mouth shut. Plus, seeing how excited Natsu was only made her excited for them as well. Flare had been spending a lot more time there since she'd told Natsu she was pregnant. Lucy hadn't really minded it, even if most of the time that Flare was there, she was spending it with her and not actually Natsu. He'd been picking up extra shifts where he could just so he could support Flare where she needed it. Flare had said he didn't really need to worry about it, but Natsu had insisted.

That had just meant Lucy had gotten to know Flare reasonably well over the last few months. Strangely enough, half of their conversations had been about their significant others. Lucy asked if Natsu still insisted on literally wrapping himself up in the blanket like a burrito when they slept at Flare's apartment, and Flare asked if Bickslow still talked about gnomes when he was drunk – both answers were a yes. Flare had even asked if Lucy would ever have children with Bickslow one day, and Lucy had only shaken her head and tried to quickly change the subject.

Still, they'd become actual friends, and Lucy was surprisingly glad for it.

Dropping the two bags she held down onto the ground, Lucy fished her keys from her purse to unlock the door. "You could always just tell him to calm down a little," she said to Flare. "At least until you're further along or something. He does listen to reason sometimes."

"I know, but he's too cute for me to do that," Flare giggled. She could tolerate Natsu's over-excitement just because he was too adorable.

Lucy rolled her eyes as she finally pushed open the door. However, when she did open the door, it being a Saturday afternoon and the house being empty, Lucy only really expected to see Happy coming to greet her. What she ended up seeing, though, was Bickslow in the middle of the hall, on one knee, with an open ring box in his hand.

"Oh fuck," he said as soon as he saw Lucy _and_ Flare standing there. Bickslow had never been so mortified.

Lucy, on the other hand, was really just confused. She'd had no idea Bickslow would be there, let alone in Magnolia. But there he was, standing right in front of her and seemingly proposing. She honestly didn't even know what to say.

And for the most part, neither did Bickslow.

Flare was the only one who could, it seemed, and it was with a giggle that she whispered by Lucy's ear, "Please say yes." And then she was only ducking around them both to take the groceries she carried into the kitchen, just to give them their privacy – or something resembling it at least.

It took Lucy a moment to remember how to move. She quickly dropped the groceries onto the ground, oranges rolling out of one bag and across the floor, and then stepped forward just to wrap her arms around Bickslow's shoulders once he'd stood, and press a lingering kiss to his lips. "Why are you… What are you doing here?!"

"I wanted to surprise you," Bickslow answered. Granted, he hadn't planned on surprising her in that precise way, but that was just how it had ended up happening.

Surprised was an understatement to how she felt. Bickslow was the last person she'd expected to see right then. That didn't mean she wasn't happy, because she was. She was always happy to see Bickslow those days, even if it was a rare event. "I'm really glad you're here," Lucy said softly as she hugged him again. Although she was only pulling away after a moment when she could feel the small box still in Bickslow's hand digging into her waist. And _that_ , she was definitely surprised about. "So, uh… Do you have something to ask me?" she asked nervously.

Bickslow's face flushed bright red. "What? _Pfft_ , no, of course not. Well, I… I _do_ , but… I mean…" He trailed off as he lifted a hand to scratch the back of his head. He'd had every intention of proposing that weekend – it was mostly why he was there, even if their one year anniversary for dating had already passed a few weeks earlier. Attempting to propose the way he had, however… That had been an impromptu little thing that he'd decided on when he'd heard Lucy's car pull into the driveway just before.

Flare happening to be there had just completely stuffed him up, and he'd really never been so embarrassed. His ex-fiancée witnessing him attempting to propose to his girlfriend was seemingly his worst nightmare. And for the most part, Bickslow barely even knew why Flare was there at all. The last he'd heard, Lucy still avoided her at all costs.

"I guess Flare kind of threw you off, huh?"

" _So_ much," he groaned. "Did I miss something? Are you two like, suddenly best friends now or something? Did I hear you two _laughing_?"

"Yeah, you missed a lot…" Lucy laughed. She had plenty to tell Bickslow about. For some reason, she just hadn't really felt the need to tell Bickslow anything about Flare every time they'd talked since Christmas. They'd only seen each other once since then, but it still hadn't really come up. Right then though, Lucy wasn't interested in telling Bickslow about her newfound friendship with Flare. That could come later. She was more interested in Bickslow asking her what he'd supposedly been wanting to ask. "But I'll fill you in later. Now come on, ask me now."

Bickslow hesitated. Asking Lucy to marry him right then would just be awkward. Then again, it was already awkward as it was, so he wasn't really sure what he had to lose. Knowing that Flare was essentially just in the next room (and probably eavesdropping, too) made him slightly uncomfortable, but he was mostly just trying to ignore that.

But, he'd already made a fool of himself, and as far as he could tell, Lucy _wanted_ him to ask her right then. He couldn't think of a reason _not_ to do it. With a sigh then, Bickslow began nervously, "Well, uh… Do you want to, um… Will you, maybe, uh…"

"Yes, you idiot." Lucy rolled her eyes as she stood up on her toes again just to quickly press another kiss to his lips. The awkward fumbling of words really wasn't getting Bickslow anywhere, and while she'd wanted Bickslow to actually ask her, it wasn't like it had been completely necessary he say the words.

All of a sudden, there was a happy squeal and Flare was rushing in to wrap her arms around the two of them as best she could. "Oh, I'm so happy for you both!" So, of course, she'd been listening, even though she knew she shouldn't have. She just hadn't been able to help herself.

Still, Flare was nothing but happy for them. Bickslow had meant a great deal to her once, so she naturally wanted the best for him. She'd long since accepted that _she_ wasn't it. Lucy was, and Flare had come to love that. And really, Flare wasn't sure if she even had a reason to be anything _but_ happy for them. She had Natsu, as well as a baby on the way, and she honestly couldn't be happier with the way things had turned out.

Bickslow was still confused as all hell by the time Flare stopped hugging them and then retreated up the stairs. He'd missed far too much from what he could tell, and he was really wanting some answers right then. The fact that Lucy had basically just agreed to marry him was seemingly irrelevant. "Okay, seriously, what the fuck have I missed while I've been in Crocus?"

* * *

After dinner was finished and once Natsu had gone with Flare to spend the night at her apartment, Lucy headed outside to sit on the steps of her back patio with a cup of hot chocolate. Bickslow sat down beside her with a tired sigh, wrapping an arm around Lucy's middle as she leant on his shoulder.

He was still wrapping his head around everything that had happened while he'd been gone. Strangely, Flare being pregnant hadn't even been the most surprising news to hear – to him, at least. It had been that Lucy had actually become friends with the woman. And while Bickslow honestly loved it, just because he hadn't wanted either of them to be unnecessarily uncomfortable around other, especially if they were kind of stuck dealing with each other, Bickslow just hadn't really seen it coming.

Still though, having Lucy (and Flare, and Natsu) fill him in on everything he'd been missing out on over the last few months had just reminded Bickslow why he was there at all. Sure, it was to propose, but it was really just because he hated being away from everything and everyone. He could count on one hand the number of times he'd actually seen Lucy since he'd moved to Crocus in August, and he hated that. The last nearly eight months had been hell for him, and he knew his relationship had suffered because of it.

"I think I'm going to move back here at the end of the year," he said, still staring out at the dark sky above the trees in the neighbouring yards. "Well, the end of the school year, I mean."

Lucy quickly sat up. "What? Why? Where is this coming from?"

He shrugged. "I just really miss everything, and I hate missing you all the time. I don't want to do it anymore."

"Bix, you know I miss you as well," She set her nearly empty mug down beside her before reaching for Bickslow's hand to unwrap his arm from around herself. "But I thought you loved it there. You get to do what you always wanted to do."

"I _do_ love it there, but I just… I love you more."

Crocus was an amazing place to live, Bickslow would admit that. And he loved his job, even if he wasn't completely happy there. But he cared about Lucy too much to stay there for much longer. He wanted to marry her and to have a life with her, and go and do things with her that other normal couples who lived together did. Bickslow really just wanted them to be normal, because while they were living in different time zones, they weren't.

Lucy wasn't too sure how she felt about it, though. She wanted to support Bickslow with whatever he decided to do, but she really didn't want to be the reason that he gave up on an amazing opportunity and stopped doing something he loved. But in hindsight, Lucy was realising that she'd never quite thought about the long-term for them.

They wouldn't have been able to stay long-distance forever. At some point, one of them would've needed to quit their job and move, or they'd break up. Now though, they were engaged, and as much as Lucy hated to admit it, it probably just complicated things even more.

"So, what about your job?" Lucy asked softly. "Have you done anything yet?"

Bickslow shook his head. "Not yet, no. I wasn't going to quit without talking to you first." It was the same as when he'd been considering leaving his last job. He couldn't do anything without at least telling her, because it wasn't fair.

That was relieving for Lucy to hear. And knowing that Bickslow hadn't already told the school to find a new fourth grade teacher for the coming school year, it made it easier for Lucy to say then, "Well, I guess it's probably not a good time to tell you I got offered a promotion."

"Wait, really?"

She'd been talking about it with her supervisors and managers for nearly a month. It had mostly been a lot of back-and-forth with contracts being drawn up and revised, and way too many meetings where they discussed the new responsibilities and the shiny new salary that would come with it. It had only been a few days earlier that they'd all finally reached an agreement, and now all Lucy had to do was give them all her answer.

And naturally, Lucy had wanted to see what Bickslow thought before she decided, even if taking the job would mean she'd get to move to Crocus.

"A supervisor position," Lucy said. "It'll be more work, but I'll get my own office."

"That's great!" Bickslow quickly wrapped his arms back around Lucy to give her a tight hug. He thought she deserved something like that. Except with how stiff she felt in his arms, Bickslow only wondered if there was something else she wasn't telling him. "Or… It's not great?" he mumbled. "What aren't you telling me?"

She gave a small shrug before she answered, "The job's at the Crocus office."

"…Oh."

Bickslow was proud of her, undoubtedly, but now he wasn't so sure what _he_ wanted to do. He didn't even know what Lucy wanted to do. Bickslow had always thought Magnolia was his home, which was part of why he'd wanted to move back so he could find another job at a local school and be with Lucy. Now, though… Now Bickslow was wondering if Crocus would be his home instead. It would have to be if Lucy took the job.

Still though, he didn't want Lucy to miss out on a promotion just because he wanted to move back to Magnolia, because he knew Lucy would turn it down if he moved. And at the same time, Lucy didn't want to move all the way to Crocus if she knew Bickslow wasn't happy at the school he was at, because if she moved, she knew for certain that Bickslow would stay.

Neither one wanted to be the reason the other missed out on something, and neither one wanted to be the one to make the final decision.

The hot chocolate sitting beside Lucy was already cool by the time she picked it back up again, but she sipped at it absentmindedly anyway as she continued to look out to the dark sky, wondering just what they were going to do. There weren't many stars to see, but the moon was full and bright, high in the sky above the houses.

Bickslow reached across for Lucy's hand then, only pulling it up so he could press a gentle kiss to the back of her palm. "Don't worry. We'll figure something out, Sunshine," he whispered.

That was what they were good at, so they had to do it that time.


	13. Clumsy (T)

_This is another one of the stories I got lazy with and just really needed to finish. It's been sitting in my WIP folder for like two years now, and since the new season of Mozart in the Jungle was released yesterday, I finally had the motivation to work on this AU again, since MITJ was originally the inspiration for this. Anyway, it was based on a couple of prompts but I've lost them now, so... Yeah._

 _There'll be some more notes at the end for this._

 _ **Summary** : She's the pretty violinist, and he's the confident cellist. And the next time Lucy trips over his damn cello, she's probably going to actually break it. _  
_**Rating** : T_

* * *

 **Clumsy**

* * *

Lucy yawned into her hand as she headed back over to the violin section. Their fifteen minute break was just about over, and Lucy always made her way back to her chair before the majority of the orchestra returned. Their impromptu rehearsal space wasn't all that large, and they were a large orchestra, so they were often a little cramped during their rehearsals. It was much easier to just cut her own break a minute or two short, rather than try and weave her way through the orchestra and attempt not to trip over a chair leg, a music stand, someone else's feet, or worse – an instrument.

Besides, when she got back early, she could go over sections that she knew needed a little more practice. She didn't need a full fifteen minutes to get a drink and visit the bathroom. It didn't at all help that all she wanted to do was get home and sleep. Lucy usually didn't have any problems with the extra late night rehearsals they had to squeeze in before special performances – she'd been playing with the Crocus Symphony Orchestra long enough to be used to it – but she was still getting over a cold that had hit her like a falling piano and was desperately needing to catch up on her sleep.

There were just a few other players in there already – some practicing or retuning, and others just staring at their phones – and with the cramped stage, Lucy had no choice but to slip through from the woodwind row at the back and make her way towards the front that way. She was as careful as she possibly could be; turning music stands slightly so she had room to slip past and trying to avoid knocking the odd oboe or viola balanced precariously on the uncomfortable chairs. Lucy did well, of course. But then she was kicking something hard, losing her balance in an attempt not to _stand_ on what she quickly realised was someone's cello lying on the ground, and then finding herself falling directly onto the lap of one of the cellists.

The only upside was that Lucy somehow hadn't ended up falling face-down. But that upside wasn't enough for her to not have a face that was the same shade of red as the seats in the theatre, because she was sitting on the lap of someone she really only knew the name of, and staring up at the surprised face of the man that had impulsively ended up wrapping his arm around her back to keep her from falling further.

Unfortunately for Lucy, she was known for rambling when embarrassed, and right then, she was close to mortified. And that only mean she had no control over the words that were soon flying out of her mouth: "Uh… Hey, Bix, how's it going?"

The blue-haired cellist arched an eyebrow at the woman sitting over his lap, and he couldn't quite help but laugh. "Pretty great, I'd say." Especially considering who he had sitting on his lap right then. What could he say? She was pretty, and since Lucy sat right opposite him in the orchestra, it had been hard not to notice her a few times. "You good there?"

"Um, y-yes! I am!" Lucy replied all too quickly and enthusiastically, and was mentally cringing at herself. She cleared her throat and looked around at the still mostly empty seats; it didn't seem like anyone had seen her stumble and she couldn't be happier. "But… Oh! Oh god, what about your cello?" The fact she'd kicked the man's cello was quickly coming back to the forefront of her mind and her face was soon a mask of terror. Lucy was sure she'd heard a _thud_ from it tipping over. "Nothing is broken, is it?"

Bickslow laughed again and leant sideways as best he could with Lucy still on his lap, and picked his cello up from beside him to hold it up and briefly examine it. He'd done worse to it himself in all the years he'd been playing, and it was still in one piece. "Nah, she's pretty sturdy. It's gonna take a bit more than that to break her," he said.

Lucy nodded. She was a musician, and although she had a day job, she sure as hell wouldn't have been able to afford to get Bickslow's cello repaired. She could barely afford to replace the damn strings on her violin herself. But alas, since her violin was practically her baby (she joked that it had probably cost the same as a baby would for the first year, and she had put herself in debt for it), Lucy always made sure that it was in perfect playing order. Anything less just wasn't acceptable.

Still, Bickslow being convinced that she hadn't broken or damaged his instrument made her rather relieved. All that was left was getting the hell off him. "So, uh… I should um…" She only cleared her throat awkwardly before jumping up and off the cellist's lap as quickly as she could, and her face grew impossibly hotter as she almost tripped on the neck of the cello again, and then almost managed to knock over his music stand and create a domino effect with the rest of the stands in the first row.

When she was safely in her own chair, just opposite Bickslow's own, she couldn't help but raise her stand just a little higher so she wouldn't have to look up and see his stupid smirk. Something was telling her the rest of her rehearsal was going to be painfully slow.

* * *

Bickslow looked up from his music in front of him to the blonde violinist that was just taking her seat opposite him. He couldn't help but smirk as she went straight to tuning as soon as she was sitting. Just like she always did when she sat down and got prepared for their morning rehearsals, she was doing her best to ignore him, but of course, Bickslow didn't mind it once bit.

The soft pizzicato of the random repeating notes he began to idly play only blended into the sounds of the orchestra around them. "Morning, Lucy," he greeted her just as he usually did.

She merely glanced up to cellist before returning to the task at hand – her D string sounded a little flat and she certainly couldn't have that. "Good morning, Bickslow," Lucy mumbled in return.

"You ready for opening night?"

"Of course," she replied curtly. She was always ready. She wouldn't be playing at all if she wasn't prepared for the beginning of the new season. "You better not pull stupid faces at me during any of the performances, though. I'll hit you in the face with that damn cello of yours if you do."

Bickslow snorted. "Oh yeah?" He'd admit that he'd been having fun with Lucy over the last few weeks of rehearsals since she had ended up falling into his lap during the last Christmas Concert rehearsal, just occasionally making the odd face whenever Lucy had looked towards him. Bickslow would also admit that he'd never really intended to take it that far, though. He'd only meant to make her just a _little_ more embarrassed about falling onto him that one rehearsal, but then Bickslow had realised it was way too entertaining testing her patience with him and he hadn't been able to stop doing it.

Of course, Bickslow had quickly realised that no matter how many times he went cross-eyed, stuck his tongue out at her, or even just tried to stare at her for as long as he could without blinking, Lucy never missed a single note. She could not be swayed or distracted in the slightest – nor could she be creeped out for that matter, and on more than one occasion his best friend playing the viola right next to him had hit him in the forehead with his bow and told him to stop being a creep and just play the damn music.

Still, Bickslow had to admit that Lucy threatening to hit him with his own cello was pretty damn entertaining, even if he was very much aware of how empty it was.

"…No, you idiot," Lucy hissed in response. She could never _hurt_ such a fine instrument. It had just felt good saying it.

Bickslow only laughed again. He might have fun annoying her during rehearsals, but he wasn't so much of an ass that he'd do it during their performances. As far as he was concerned, what happened in rehearsals, stayed in rehearsals.

Plus… If he did do something stupid on stage in the middle of one of their performances, Bickslow worried that Lucy's threat wouldn't be quite so empty.

* * *

Bowing one last time to the applauding crowd, Bickslow was still grinning as he exited the stage with the rest of the orchestra. His entire life (or at least for most of it), he'd only ever had three goals.

One, was to join the Crocus City Symphony Orchestra.

Two, was to have a child and have them appreciate the art of music as much as he did.

And three, to perform Dvorak's Cello Concerto in B minor in front of an audience.

At thirty-one, Bickslow was now able to say that he'd completed the two most important goals on his list. He didn't have a kid just yet, much to his parents' disappointment, but that didn't bother him anyway. For the most part, he'd put his life on hold to pursue music, simply because it _was_ his life. And even with the two most important of his goals having been officially completed, Bickslow still had no intentions of moving on to the third goal – at least not yet anyway. Children could come later.

By the time he made it off the stage and set his cello down in its case back in the green room, Bickslow was still positively brimming with excitement and energy. Freed, the resident bassoonist and Bickslow's long-time friend was the first to congratulate him on his performance once he'd met up with everyone else. Then it was Evergreen, the flautist that Bickslow had come to see as a sister over the many years they'd been friends. Soon, it was Laxus on viola coming up to pat him on the back and letting his gruff exterior fall for just a millisecond as he shared how proud he was, and before long, almost everyone in the orchestra had shaken his hand or hugged him or raised a glass of champagne to him.

It wasn't until he turned and ended up running straight into the shining blonde that was seated opposite him, that something occurred to Bickslow: that he'd been _looking_ for her. As he'd weaved through the crowded green room and into the hall, and then up the stairs to where the orchestra's main donators and contributors were all gathered with their fancy gowns and expensive flutes of champagne, he'd only been looking for her. And Bickslow knew that for certain as soon as she recognised him and quickly stood up on her toes in her perfectly professional heels, and wrapped her arms around his shoulders tightly.

Because as happy and thrilled and ecstatic as he'd been before, with the adrenaline still coursing through him as his friends and family praised him on his once in a lifetime opportunity, he was so much happier now that it was Lucy telling him how proud she was. And he didn't quite know why.

"You were _amazing_!" Lucy said ecstatically. The grin on her lips was just as wide as the cellist's as she leant back briefly, only to pull the tall man into another tight hug a second later. "I'm so proud of you!"

"I know!" Bickslow shouted, still as excited as ever. "I mean, I slipped up a little and got a bit of out tempo in the middle of the adagio, and ended up missing a few bars in the final movement, but… Oh, I was so fucking _good_!" And, really, he was. He had no problems admitting that, because he wouldn't have just been sitting in the centre of the damn stage unless he was ridiculously good.

Neither actually noticed that were still holding onto each other until their lips were touching. And even then, they didn't really pay much attention to it, too much adrenaline and excitement coursing through their veins and each movement seemed to be purely instinctual. They were just off in their own little world for a moment, and no one around them seemed to be caring much either. And by the time Bickslow's hands had found her waist and Lucy's arms had wound around his shoulders and her fingers sifted through his hair, it wasn't heated or frenzied or rushed. It was tender, and gentle, and Lucy almost wished that she could stay in that moment forever.

But then Bickslow pulled himself away, just enough to let his forehead rest on hers for a moment, and just enough for him to make out the rosy colour on Lucy's cheeks when his eyes flitted down for a second.

And that was when Lucy's eyes widened, and she stepped back abruptly while clearing her throat quietly and making a point of looking away. "That, um… I… _Wow_ …" She was rarely speechless, but right then? Oh, she was definitely speechless. And just a little flustered, too. And all because of a kiss – a kiss that probably shouldn't have happened, but a kiss that Lucy honestly hadn't wanted to end.

All Bickslow could do, however, was stare at the flustered woman before him in utter confusion. That was not supposed to have happened, but… He certainly wasn't regretting it, either. He liked her, what else could he say? And, well, as impulsive as it had been, Bickslow was sure their little moment then had been totally worth it. The only problem was that he wasn't quite sure if Lucy was on the same page as him.

He rubbed the back of his neck and glanced around – no one apart from Evergreen and Laxus snickering in the corner of the room seem to have really noticed, which was great, really. Clearing his throat first, Bickslow said, "W-Well, um… I know you don't usually go to them often, but uh… We're all – well, a bunch of us, at least – are heading over to this crappy little bar next to the theatre soon… And, uh, it'd be nice if you could come by tonight. At least for a little while." He shrugged. For the most part, Bickslow just wanted to try and spend time with Lucy outside of practice, because so far, all he knew about her was that she was damn good and violin, and he was convinced there was more to the woman that her musical ability.

"Oh. Um…" Lucy had heard about the rest of the orchestra usually getting together after their shows and going out somewhere, but she'd only ever been once or twice. She still thought of the orchestra as her family and her home, but the whole drinking thing? Lucy had never particularly enjoyed it, and she'd never really liked the idea of taking her violin out with her and then risk getting it stolen, despite having it heavily insured. But… If _Bickslow_ wanted her to make an appearance… She could at least stop by on her way home, maybe for just a few minutes. Her cab would drive past it to get back to her apartment anyway. "I might stop by for a little while," Lucy said softly, nodding to herself and giving him an almost nervous smile.

Bickslow's own smile grew infectiously bright. "Great!" He couldn't keep his excitement from showing, and Lucy just couldn't help but find it cute. Bickslow knew he couldn't just stand there all night though. He had other places to be, countless praises and compliments to be heard. But he already knew that he was going to be too busy lost in his own head all night being ridiculously excited about Lucy stopping by the bar later. "I'll see you later then!"

Lucy didn't get the chance to respond before the cellist was turning around and slamming straight into one of the clarinettists making her way past. Thankfully, no instruments were dropped, and Lucy could only roll her eyes as she watched the tall man slip through the crowded green-room, only being stopped by every second person to praise his performance.

* * *

"Did you hear we're doing the Rachmaninoff concerto again next season?" Evergreen said.

Lucy groaned and rolled her eyes. "Don't remind me."

"Excuse you? What's wrong with the concerto?" Bickslow asked.

"We've done it every season for the last six years."

"Nine, actually," Laxus pointed out.

"See? Don't you think we've done it enough?" Lucy sighed and sipped at her drink. "It's not even that good, anyway. Rachmaninoff is completely overrated." If she could never play his second piano concerto again, then Lucy would die happy, but apparently the orchestra committee had other plans.

"Do not disrespect our lord and saviour Rachmaninoff!" Bickslow shouted. " _Piano Concerto Number Two_ is a work of art! It's a masterpiece!" He always loved the pieces they did when they had the resident pianist join them.

"Oh, shut up. It's boring, and Rachmaninoff isn't even that great," Lucy argued. "You only like it because you get all the _good_ parts."

Well, it was true. There _were_ a lot of great cello parts in it, but… "That's irrelevant. Rachmaninoff is a god of the romantic period. You're just bitter because you know I'm right."

"I am most definitely not bitter, thank you very much! You're just as deluded as everyone who comes year after year just to hear us play that stupid piece. _Piano Concerto Number Two_ is the equivalent of _Für Elise_ or _Moonlight Sonata_ , that's how overrated it is."

"I quite like _Moonlight Sonata_ ," Freed chimed in.

"Well, I'm sorry, but you're basic," Lucy said. Freed only shrugged and went back to listening to their argument in mild amusement. "But anyway, Rachmaninoff really isn't as good as everyone makes him out to be. Shostakovich is miles better than he could ever be."

Bickslow rolled his eyes. "Shostakovich is just a wannabe Rachaz," he scoffed. "And twentieth century composers are all just garbage anyway."

"W-Well, _most_ of it is garbage, but _his_ C minor concerto is far better than the Rachmaninoff nonsense we're forced to play every year."

And to think he'd _kissed_ her. It was shameful. "Lucy Heartfilia, you are a disgrace to the music community." Bickslow shook his head as he sat back down in the booth they'd all commandeered. "You cannot be a musician if you do not appreciate the almighty lord Rachmaninoff."

Lucy could only roll her eyes at him. "Oh, whatever, you nerd." She didn't care what the stupid cellist said. She couldn't do anything to help those that had basic taste in music.

* * *

At some point, after a discussion on who was the best baroque composer (Bickslow claimed Vivaldi), which somehow led to making out behind the bar while simultaneously having a completely sane argument on whether the _Dies Irae_ or _Tierce de Picardie_ was more pleasing to the ears, Lucy wound up in the backseat of a taxi with the stupid cellist and his stupid cello and on the way to his apartment, just because it happened to be the closest. Come morning, Lucy wasn't sure what she regretted most between doing tequila shots with the flute section, and saying that Pachelbel was the best baroque composer.

But it was at exactly six in the morning that Lucy woke up in Bickslow's bed - which, was ridiculously comfortable and warm - because his neighbour had a dog with the most annoying bark in the entire world. If she'd known she would be waking up that early on a Saturday, she would've made a point of going back to her own _peaceful_ apartment.

Whether Bickslow was awake or not, Lucy couldn't tell, but if he'd lived there long enough, he'd probably figured out how to sleep through the annoying sound. Still, while Lucy knew she had no hope in hell of sleeping through it, she also knew food and coffee would make it slightly more tolerable, and she didn't really care what Bickslow thought of her helping herself to breakfast in his kitchen. So with a groan, Lucy dragged herself out of bed when the barking continued and picked up the first article of clothing she could find, which ended up being the white dress shirt from the back of a chair. She doubted it was perfectly clean, but it beat putting her dress back on, wherever it even was.

Except, she barely made it out of the bedroom before she kicked something hard and _almost_ found herself stumbling and falling face first into the hardwood floor. "Mother fu—" Lucy quickly steadied herself on the door frame while clutching her foot and balancing on the other. Looking down, she wasn't the least bit surprised to see the toppled cello case lying in front of the door. "Bickslow!"

At that point, Lucy was beginning to think she was cursed to always trip over the damn thing. She still had no idea how, but if it hadn't been six in the morning, she might've been a _little_ less pissed about it.

"What? What are you yelling about?" Bickslow mumbled into his pillow, with Lucy's shrieking and stomping around pulling him from his pleasant dreams. "Come back to bed."

"No! I will not!" Lucy insisted. She wasn't getting back into bed with the idiot who had a habit of leaving his cello in horrible places. Besides, she was already up and she never liked going back to bed once she was up for the day. "And I'm yelling because you left your damn cello outside the door and I just about broke my neck!"

Admittedly, Bickslow found it a little amusing that Lucy had already tripped over the thing when the sun wasn't even up yet. Still, she was clumsy, and Bickslow was just a little surprised that Lucy _hadn't_ broken her neck yet. "It's not my fault you don't watch where you're walking."

So, maybe she didn't really look down that often. But in her defence, she really hadn't thought it necessary. She liked to assume there weren't going to be expensive instruments lying on the floor in front of her and getting in the way. "I… That's not the point!"

"Mm-hmm, sure it's not," Bickslow murmured.

Lucy clenched her fists at her side as she bit the inside of her cheek. She had half a mind to pick it up and throw it at him - _that_ would teach him for leaving it in the way all the time - but it was worth more than her soul and Lucy couldn't bring herself to break such a wonderful instruments on such a stupid face. It really wasn't worth it. "Just don't leave your cello on the ground for people to trip over!" she shrieked.

"And by people, you mean _you_."

"Yes, exactly!"

"Mm-hmm, sure thing."

 _Must. Not. Throw. Cello._ She'd have to find something else to throw at him… Like a pillow, or something. At least that wouldn't hurt, not unless she happened to get a zip in his eye or something.

With a huff, Lucy only made a point of picking up the cello case and setting it out of the way, right next to where she'd left her violin case the night before, and then went to raid Bickslow's kitchen.

* * *

Firstly, this was supposed to be way longer, but when I started working on it again, I decided it'd work better as a mini-series, so this works as some kind of prologue/teaser.

Secondly, the Rachmaninoff and Shostakovich argument was inspired by an argument my best friend and I had last year. She was doing her thesis on a few of Shostakovich's pieces, and she joked that Shostakovich was better than Rachmaninoff, and I joked that she was disrespecting him. We both studied the piano concerto in our final year, and to this day, it is still one of my favourite pieces and I like to get out my old score covered in all of my notes and markings and go through it.

Anyway, that's it! Writing this AU made me miss music more than usual so it's probably why it took so long to write. Still, I'll edit it one day, and I'll write the rest of it one day too (I already know it'll be called Enharmonic because of course it will be). For now, I need to focus on my uni work and getting my mental health back on track, because the last few weeks have been kind of rough...

Anyway, hope you enjoyed! Reviews are always appreciated.


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